Last updated: March 16, 2014



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Afghan govt releases 80 Taliban prisoners

SOME 80 Taliban prisoners once held at the US military Bagram jail have been released by the Afghan government amid hopes that it might help reconciliation efforts.

Their release was secured through a special complaints committee that looked into each case.

Most of them had been incarcerated without charge, said a senior member of the High Peace Council, a government initiative seeking peace and reconciliation efforts with the Taliban insurgency, which has been waging a deadly war for more than 11 years.

"Many were imprisoned on political grounds ... We hope their release will strengthen the peace efforts," council member Ismail Qasimyar said.

"We want those who have been released to be peace workers and spread the word of peace."

A total of 275 prisoners had already been released from Bagram jail, which hosts around 3000 inmates and came under Afghan control in September.

A further 585 prisoners are to be released in the coming days, General Ghulam Farooq Barakzai, the commander of the Bagram Jail, told reporters, adding that a total of 1200 prisoners are set to be freed in the coming months.

"Justice causes security and stability. If we fear an individual's release will cause an effect on security, we will keep him jailed," he stressed.

Last year, an Afghan government investigation found "many cases of violations" of Afghan law and human rights at the then US-run Bagram prison, which is located north of Kabul city.

The Afghan government also accused the United States military of holding some prisoners for more than two years without charge.

The mood was sombre during Friday's release ceremony, which was held inside the infamous Pul-e-Charkhi jail in the Afghan capital.

Obaidullah, an Afghan teacher, was one of those released on Friday. He had spent 20 months in Bagram after being arrested during a US special forces raid on a school in eastern Logar province.

Teary-eyed, his relatives greeted him and handed him a mobile phone to talk to his family in the village.

"They arrested me without any reason. Later they told me that I had links with the Haqqani network and the Taliban," he said.

"They could not find any proof. Now I am free."

Obaidullah said he was tortured mentally, with the US army keeping him in an uncomfortable position for hours each day.

He was also kept in a dark cold room without any blankets for weeks, he said, and could leave the room only for one hour each day.

On many occasions, his meals were limited to one a day, he alleged.

"We all faced different types of problems ... I am still suffering from deep mental pressure," he said, adding he was still surprised as to why he had been arrested in the first place.