129 inmates released from Nimroz, Kabul jails

KABUL (Pajhwok): At least 129 prisoners have been released from the central jail in Nimroz province and from Kabul’s notorious Pul-i-Charkhi prison in compliance with a presidential decree, officials said on Wednesday.

Aziz Ahmad Sarbaz, an official at the Attorney General’s Office in Kabul, said 101 inmates were released from the Pul-i-Charkhi prison under the decree issued on the occasion of Eid Milad-un-Nabi.

He said those released had either committed minor crimes or had less than six months left in their jail terms. He said those involved in insecurity, corruption and kidnappings did not benefit from the decree.

Khalilullah, legal advisor to President Ashraf Ghani, said the unity government wanted all the inmates who had committed minor crimes to be released.

Omid, one of the beneficiaries, who spent two years in jail, said he faced a lot of problems inside the prison. A major challenge, he said, was rampant use of drugs among prisoners.

He urged the government to put an end to the smuggling of drugs into prisons. Some 8,700 prisoners are being held at the Pul-i-Charkhi jail.

Meanwhile, 28 prisoners, including eight women and two children, were released from the central prison in Nimroz, with 22 inmates getting concessions in their jail terms.

Ataullah Fikri, appellant court head, said 500 prisoners, including 13 women, were kept in the central prison.

hg/ma