Karzai demands handover of UK secret prison in Afghanistan
AFGHANISTAN: Afghan President Hamid Karzai has set a deadline
for the British Armed Forces to hand over all Afghans in Camp Bastion to
the government within two weeks.
The announcement by Karzai’s spokesperson on Saturday came after last
week’s revelations that the UK forces in Afghanistan are holding over 90
Afghan nationals without trial.
The presidential spokesperson says no foreign country has the right
to run detention centers inside Afghanistan and that the detaining of
Afghan citizens by foreign troops is against the country’s sovereignty.
The illegal detentions were made during military operations. The
British kept the Afghans in Camp Bastion jail in the southern province
of Helmand for a long time without trial.
British forces in Afghanistan are normally allowed to detain suspects
for four days.
The detainees’ lawyers said they have been held in custody without
charge for up to 14 months, which amounts to unlawful detention and
internment. Lawyers say the case is against international law and the
British constitution.
Last week, General Zahir Azimi, a spokesman for the Afghan Defense
Ministry, also criticized the detentions as “illegal” and “inhuman.”
“The prisoners must be handed over to the Afghan authorities,” he
said. “After their handover to us, they will be dealt with according to
our judicial laws, and the agreements reached with the international
community.”
The Afghan president also demanded that London provide Kabul with
explanation regarding its drone program. The UK military has been
operating drone attacks in Afghanistan from London.
Kabul says the two countries have no agreement over conducting such
strikes.
British forces have been based in Helmand province since the US-led
war in Afghanistan began in 2001. Some 9,000 UK troops are currently
stationed in the war-ravaged country.
- PRESS TV
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