Afghans agree on Bagram prison handover plan

[unhappycamper]

Afghans agree on Bagram prison handover plan
By Kim Gamel - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Jan 9, 2010 17:55:15 EST

KABUL — The Afghan government agreed Saturday on a transition plan to take over responsibility for the U.S.-run prison at the Bagram air base following criticism of human rights abuses at the facility. U.S. and Afghan officials said the handover could occur by the end of the year.

Treatment of inmates at the facility has been under scrutiny since the 2002 deaths at Bagram of two Afghan detainees, which led to prisoner abuse charges against several American troops. Concerns about lengthy detentions also have drawn comparisons with U.S. detention centers in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and in Iraq.

President Hamid Karzai has said he wants operations at Bagram to be re-evaluated and has called for the release of inmates being held without evidence. He said arrests are turning ordinary Afghans against U.S. and NATO forces.

The U.S. military welcomed the memorandum of understanding signed by senior Afghan officials on Saturday, saying the facility could be handed over to Afghan control by the end of the year. Defense Minister Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak and other senior Afghan officials signed the agreement. The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal attended the ceremony but did not sign the deal.

The Afghans decided that the Ministry of Defense will initially assume responsibility for the transition, but will eventually transfer its role as custodian and manager of the facility to the Ministry of Justice, according to a U.S. statement.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/01/ap_bagram_prison_010910/

[Solly Mack]

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