100 prisoners held at makeshift cell in Takhar

KUNDUZ CITY (PAN): More than 100 prisoners are kept under a makeshift arrangement made of wood and clothes in the central jail in northern Takhar province, despite harsh weather conditions, visitors said on Wednesday.

Around 590 prisoners, including 27 women, have been held at the facility in Taluqan, Syed Haroon, who visited his nephew at the jail, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

He said before transferring his relative to the makeshift cell he had been held in a tent.

“The ceiling of the makeshift arrangement is made of wood and clothes are used as its walls which cannot protect the inmates from the freezing temperatures,” he lamented.

Najeebullah Khaliqyar, a provincial council member, remarked it was against human rights to expose prisoners to harsh weather conditions. The public representative said he had taken the issue with local officials.

The jail superintendent, Col. Abdurab Mutmain , said they had no enough space in the jail to accommodate all the inmates. He said those kept in the arrangement had no problem in staying there.

He said an additional structure having the capacity of housing 1000 prisoners was being constructed in the near future. He said the new building would have separate cells for women.

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