Gen. Raziq runs private jails, tortures inmates: Public rep

KBUL (Pajhwok): A provincial council member from southern Kandahar province on Saturday accused provincial police chief Gen. Abdul Raziq of running private jails and torturing prisoners there.

However, Gen. Raziq has said nothing about the allegations leveled against him by Janan Gulzai, who has come to Kabul.

Gulzai said told a news conference in Kabul: “Gen. Abdul Raziq have private prisons in Kandahar city and Spin Boldak district where civilians are also imprisoned and they are tortured and persecuted.”

The public representative further claimed he knew an individual who had been held captive on the police chief’s orders for the past many months.

“I have been informed about an Afghan trader who had come from Pakistan to obtain ID card in Kandahar. He was arrested by the police chief and despite the passage of eight months, Gen. Raziq is yet to send his case to the provincial attorney’s office. Raziq also doesn’t appear to respond in this regard.”

“Raziq owns many such prisons where he keeps hundreds of prisoners. He also holds kangaroo courts and take decisions.”

However, the public representative produced or presented no proof before media to substantiate his claims.

Gulzai said he had shared the issue with the Minister of Interior and the National Security Council, but failed to elicit a response.

In April, 2017, the UN committee on torture had also accused Gen. Raziq of running private jails where he tortured prisoners and in some cases eliminated his opponents.

There has been no word from the police chief about the recent accusations against him. However, in reaction to the UN report, Raziq had said the accusations were baseless and were made to defame him.

Najib Danish, MoI deputy spokesman, had also at that time said that delegations sent to inspect the allegations didn’t confirm the matter.

sns/ma