The Bagram prison established in 2002 under US in Afghanistan is known as world most dreadful prison where systematically and openly the basic rights of human rights and prisoners rights are violated by US authorities from military forces to diplomats and judicial authorities. The prisoners are deprived of having contact with their families and friends and outside prisons world.
Lack of access to defender lawyer, court trial and other legal assistance, keeping detainees even after expiring their sentence period are some samples of US authorities commitment to human rights .There is no access of “Human rights defender” organizations to the detentions site under US in Afghanistan. Those “Human Rights” organizations that succeeded to visit a small and well decorated site of the compound still blame the US authorities for violation of the prisoners’ rights such as physical and spiritual tortures, beating, electric shorts, hanging from ceiling, drowning their heads in water, sleeplessness, threatening to death, sexual harassment, unclothing, forcing to walk bare feet on snow, loud music, full lights… Under such circumstances in US prisons in Afghanistan some of prisoners have lost their lives and their tragic stories of dying under tortures remained hidden and their families have no information about their beloveds.
In March 2013, after several requests of Afghan government, finally around 3000 prisoners were handed over to Afghan authorities in Bagram by US officials that were indentified innocent after 4- 12 years in US detention in Afghanistan. Most of the detainees still have not understood the reasons behind their detention and under taking years long terrible tortures. Most of the prisoners are victims of incorrect information provided by the intelligence services or high level of biases that any Pashtoon with long beard in traditional clothes is a “terrorist”! Thus, this is the real and simple logic behind the majority of Afghan prisoners in US custody.
Bagram like Guantanamo and Abo Gharib is a “symbol of hypocrisy and injustice” .Pentagon spokesperson Todd Breasseale justifies that the third country nationals held by the U.S. in Bagram Prison in Afghanistan are kept as detainees under the Law of War. The same reason used against all prisoners at Guantanamo. This absurd “legal rationale” allows the U.S. imperialism to hold prisoners until the end of war against outside the US which Washington officials have suggested could last as much as another 20 years! It means the judicial system of US imperialism gives authority to the government to keep the “war” suspicious detainees in prisons without any evidence and charge for decades and for a whole life. But the Geneva 1949 conventions obviously make invalid the US authorities excuse of “war situation” or “law of war” to reserve the right to repress the rights of political detainees in their detention centers.
As in case of Afghanistan the Bagram prison will remain under the control of US after 2014 and withdrawal of combating forces of US and NATO from Afghanistan. The most concern is that there is no guarantee of observing human rights and prisoners rights while the US hand over the Afghan prisoners to Afghan authorities. Because the Afghan intelligence is a trained child of US that understand how to treat the prisoners as the trainer did in Gauantanamo and Abo Gharib and Bagram since 2002.
Amin Ahmadi a member of delegate to assess prisoners’ situation in Afghanistan says that the detainees with US and NATO forces in Afghanistan have been kept under war law and they are detained only based on special intelligence information. He added some of detainees who had been identified innocent and their cases were closed by court, because of war dominated situation still they are deemed dangerous and kept in detention.
Mohammad Musa Fariwar a law lecturer at Kabul University, express his views that having private prisons by US and NATO members’ countries in Afghanistan is illegal and it violate the sovereignty of the country. He urged that it is the duty of Afghan government and Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission to defend their people rights but at the same time he reveal a fact that the government of Afghanistan and Human Rights Commission are budgeting by US and NATO that force them to observe the silence.
Based on Bo Shihr News quoted from CNN, confirms that Bagram prison is worst than Guantanamo. Anna Coren a reporter of CNN conducted an interview with Muhammad Nasim a person who experienced 5 years in Bagram and Guantanamo prisons under US. Nasim says he was arrested based on only absurd reason as having intention to attack on Bagram air base and detained in Bagram for 5 months and then transferred to Guantanamo. He explained he was hung downward from ceiling, beaten his head with wall and deprived from sleep for one week. He added, these tortures were unbearable and forced him to think about committing suicide. Nasim was released after 4 and half years and was said just they were sorry!! He disappointedly described that he was for away from his children and family for 5 years and the American authorities has taken away his five years life for nothing.
Only the absurd law allows the US government to arrest suspicious people and keep them for decades without evidence show the real face of US human rights values and justice system towards the other nationals. Some Afghan victims of US inhuman policies due to cultural values never expose what have gone on them during the detention period. And on the other hand, many of released people feel fear to open their mouths on the crimes in US prisons in Afghanistan. But, some of detainees who were not at all “terrorist” and released after several years, had no way except to join anti occupation resistance to compensate their devastated life, pain and wound imposed by US authorities in their illegal prisons.
18 Sept, 2013, Afghanistan