G. Redd at 11:52 AM ET
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Afghanistan president demands transfer of prisoners of war at Bagram
Afghanistan president demands transfer of prisoners of war at Bagram
G. Redd at 11:52 AM ET
[JURIST] Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai [official website] demanded Saturday that all prisoners of war held by UK forces at Bagram Airfield
[official website] be released into Afghan custody. The estimated
number of detainees is more than 80. Karzai's spokesperson, Aimal Faizi,
confirmed [press release] that Karzai instructed National Security Advisor Rangin Dadfar Spanta
[Afghanistan Online profile] to ask the British Embassy in Kabul to
hand over the prisoners by June 22. The British embassy responded that
while it supports the transfer of custody, it needs assurances that
doing so would not result in a violation of British laws against
torture. Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] has also cautioned
[press release] against the transfer of detainees. Faizi responded
that, "Continuing the detention of Afghan nationals by the British
forces will be a violation of our national sovereignty and our country's
laws."
London-based Public Interest Lawyers [firm website] last month accused
[JURIST report] the UK military of holding at least eight men without
charge at the UK temporary holding facility in Camp Bastion,
Afghanistan. Their clients were allegedly held for over eight months
without charge and without access to lawyers in what could be a breach
of international law. Applications for habeas corpus were issued on behalf of two of the men in April, and the military ordered a hearing set in July. According to the UK Ministry of Defense
[official website], the detainees are being held in Camp Bastion until a
safe path through the Afghan system could be assured. Last year an
Afghan detainee who was handed over to authorities in Afghanistan by UK
forces won permission to challenge the legality of the transfer
[JURIST report] in a UK court. Before the High Court of Justice in
London, Serdar Mohammed claimed that he had been transferred by British
forces to a prison in Afghanistan where he was tortured by the
Afghanistan intelligence service until he confessed that he was a member
of the Taliban. The court felt there was "an arguable case" that
required being heard out by a jury in order to determine the legality of
the transfer. Observing the potential for torture, British forces have
temporarily halted any future transfer of detainees to Afghanistan.
Following the policy shift, a Ministry of Defense spokesperson claimed
that UK does not transfer detainees to facilities where there is a risk
of torture.
G. Redd at 11:52 AM ET
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment