Damaged jail building worries inmates

PUL-I-KHUMRI (Pajhwok): One block of the Killagai prison in northern Baghlan province has been damaged, with dozens of inmates shifted to other portions, where they are facing hardships.

The five acres prison includes four single-storey blocks was built at a cost of $14 million provided by USAID. Previously, prisoners were held in a rented house in Pul-i-Khumri, the provincial capital.  

Built next to a US base that was vacated eight months back, the facility currently has 700 men, 20 women along with their 10 children are imprisoned there.

Prison officials have warned of bad consequences if authorities do not pay attention to damaged walls of the fourth block.

Col. Mohammad Yahya Qarar, the prison head, told Pajhwok Afghan news they had shifted inmates to other blocks because walls of the fourth block were damaged one month back.

Of the 40 prisoners in the block, 25 were taken to other parts and the rest shifted to halls, with no heating facilities. Col. Qara linked the damage to the use of low-quality materials in the building.

Prisoners also complained of cold weather and lack of space, saying putting up so many people in a small hall could result in tension and other problems, including health hazards.

Dr. Faisal Sami, a provincial council member, said the contract for the building had been processed and work monitored by US forces. Most of the money was embezzled, he alleged.

The international community has spent billions of dollars on reconstruction, but people complain that a number of school buildings and health clinics are damaged soon after their completion.

ra/mud