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Inmates Seize Control of Afghan Prison Wing

By Jeralyn, Section Terror Detainees
Posted on Sun Feb 26, 2006 at 12:18:36 PM EST
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There's violence in Afghanistan this weekend, as prison inmates seized control of a wing of Policharki Prison. This is the high security prison where the U.S. plans to transfer 110 of the Guantanamo detainees....including those who haven't been charged with a crime.

The rioting started Saturday night when prisoners refused to put on new uniforms, delivered in response to a breakout last month by seven Taliban inmates disguised as visitors, Hashimzai said. Prisoners forced guards out of a cell block housing about 1,300 inmates, said Abdul Salaam Bakshi, chief of prisons in Afghanistan. He accused al-Qaida and Taliban inmates of inciting other prisoners. "All the problem is inside the prison," Bakshi said. "We want to peacefully solve this problem."

The prison is well-known for its inhumane conditions:

Policharki is notorious in Afghanistan. It was the scene of summary executions under a series of former regimes, most recently the hard-line Taliban. Human rights workers have criticized conditions at the prison, saying they violate "every standard of human rights."

It's also interesting that ten prison guards were arrested and charged with helping the January escape of Taliban inmates.

Negotiations with the inmates are underway.

A justice ministry delegation visited the prison on the outskirts of Kabul Sunday morning to negotiate with the prisoners. "They have demands, we are going to listen to what they want," Hashimzai said. "If we cannot solve it through negotiations, we have our own options."

[Graphic created exclusively for TalkLeft by CL.]

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