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Afghanistan frees suspected Taliban prisoners Afghanistan frees suspected Taliban prisoners over U.S. objections
(about 1 hour later)
KABUL — Afghanistan freed 65 suspected Taliban prisoners from jail Thursday, ignoring repeated warnings by the U.S. government that the men pose a threat. KABUL — The Afghan government on Thursday released 65 suspected Taliban militants from prison, ignoring repeated and vehement protests from the U.S. military, which fears that the men are likely to return the battlefield.
The move could worsen tensions between leaders of the two countries, who have been at odds for years over war strategy, political matters and other issues. The release was a starkly public illustration of Washington’s growing inability to influence the actions of President Hamid Karzai’s government and is certain to further poison U.S.-Afghan relations, threatening the prospect of an orderly withdrawal of U.S. combat troops by the end of the year.
The former detainees are part of a group of 88 men whom U.S. and NATO-led troops had arrested in raids while hunting the Taliban. They are accused of carrying out deadly attacks against foreign troops and local forces allied with them, and were being held indefinitely at the former U.S. military prison at Bagram, which has been transferred to Afghan control and renamed Parwan. In a statement issued after the men walked out of an Afghan-controlled portion of a massive American base north of the capital, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul condemned the release.
Afghanistan’s government, which is negotiating a way to transition authority over security matters from Western to Afghan troops, appointed a board to review the cases of the 88 prisoners. “The Afghan government bears responsibility for the results of its decision,” the embassy said in an uncharacteristically sternly worded statement. “We urge it to make every effort to ensure that those released do not commit new acts of violence and terror.”
U.S. military officials and politicians have repeatedly urged President Hamid Karzai not to free the men, with one lawmaker threatening to cut all developmental aid to Afghanistan until after the next election, when Karzai’s last legal term of office ends. U.S. military officials warned that the Afghan government was endangering its forces and civilians during a crucial year.
“Detainees from this group of 65 are directly linked to attacks, killing or wounding 32 U.S. or coalition personnel and 23 Afghan security personnel or civilians,” a statement from the NATO-led force said Wednesday night, ahead of the releases. “Violent criminals who harm Afghans and who threaten the peace and security of Afghanistan should face justice in the Afghan courts, where a fair and transparent trial would determine their guilt or innocence,” the military said.
But Afghan government officials and Abdul Shokoor Dadras, a senior member of the review board, said the cases of the 65 were thoroughly reviewed by various government groups and there was no evidence against them. U.S. military officials said the detainees were “directly linked” to attacks that killed or wounded 32 NATO troops — including Americans — as well as 23 Afghan security forces and civilians.
“That is why they were freed today and are on the way to their homes,” Dadras said. “Legally, we have no right to hold these people. We are studying the cases of the rest of the prisoners to see which one deserves to be punished and which one needs to be freed.” The Afghan government, which has long viewed U.S. detainee operations in Afghanistan as an affront to its sovereignty, has said that it reviewed the evidence against 88 former U.S. inmates and concluded that the majority were innocent.
In a statement, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul blasted the move, saying the Afghan government “bears responsibility.” “That is why they were freed today and are on the way to their homes,” said Abdul Shokoor Dadras, a senior member of the review board that studied the cases. “Legally, we have no right to hold these people. We are studying the cases of the rest of the prisoners to see which one deserves to be punished and which one needs to be freed.”
“Among those released today are individuals who are responsible for, or contributed to, the deaths of Afghan security force personnel, Afghan civilians, and American and other coalition personnel,” the embassy statement said. “We requested a thorough review of each case. Instead, the evidence against them was never seriously considered.” Karzai has called the U.S. detention center at Bagram air base a Taliban “factory” where innocent Afghans have become radicalized.
Coalition commanders expressed particular concern over the release of Mohammad Wali, whom they called a “Taliban weapons expert,” and Nek Mohammad, who has been linked to rocket attacks on coalition soldiers. They also noted that several of the released militants are aligned with the Haqqani network, which has carried out numerous attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. On the eve of the release, U.S. officials took the rare step of disclosing the names of a handful of detainees set for release along with a summary of the evidence against them.
U.S. officials said the release violated an agreement they made with Karzai’s government in 2012. One, Mohammad Wali, was detained in Helmand province last May after investigators found his fingerprints on the residue of roadside bombs that targeted Afghan and foreign troops, the U.S. military said.
“We urge it to make every effort to ensure that those released do not commit new acts of violence and terror, and to immediately bring to justice any who do so,” the embassy said. Another, Nek Mohammad, was captured the same month in Kandahar province in possession of several artillery rounds that U.S. military officials suspected were part of an arsenal used to target their bases, the military said.
But an Afghan presidential spokesman said the release was lawful and “in compliance to Afghan legal system.” Afghanistan’s fledgling court system has traditionally given more weight to confessions than the type of forensic analysis that U.S. military personnel see as irrefutable evidence of guilt. It has released several former U.S. detainees over the past few years, in some instances as gestures to appease political factions and power brokers.
Karzai, who came to power after U.S.-backed Afghan forces toppled the Taliban in 2001, has refused to sign a Bilateral Security Agreement with the United States unless two key conditions are met. The agreement would extend the presence of American troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014. The release comes amid an impasse between Kabul and Washington over a security pact that could keep as many as 10,000 troops in Afghanistan after the end of the year. Karzai has thus far refused to sign the document, arguing that he will do so only if Washington helps broker a peace deal between the Afghan state and the Taliban. U.S. officials have called that goal unrealistic.
Worried about his legacy and considered by the Taliban and even some ordinary Afghans as a stooge of the United States, Karzai wants the United States to use its influence to bring peace in Afghanistan and to halt all raids on the homes of Afghans before he signs the agreement. Several U.S. lawmakers, exasperated by what they see as Karzai’s intransigence, saw the prisoner release as the last straw. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) threatened earlier in the week to lead an effort to suspend all aid to the Afghan government if the release went forward.
Karzai recently called the prison at Bagram a “Taliban producing factory,” saying that the men held there indefinitely were only likely to become more radicalized against the West. He also said that there was no trust between him and the United States. “President Karzai, in my view, is single-handedly destroying this relationship,” Graham said during a hearing. “I look forward to developing a bipartisan plan to push back as hard as possible.”
There was mixed reaction to the releases among Afghan citizens and officials. Some hailed the move, while others showed fear and dismay. U.S. officials say the release of the men violates an agreement on detainee transfers that was reached with the Afghan government in 2012. The deal included a clause saying that the countries could hold an “exchange of views” in the event of a disagreement over the release of prisoners. The United States invoked that clause in the latest cases — to no avail.
Javid Kohistani, a security analyst and former general, said Karzai’s aim in freeing the detainees was to “prompt the Taliban to start talks with his government or get their support to vote for his favorite in the presidential election.” While some Afghans hailed the release as a milestone in the country’s quest for sovereignty, others expressed fear and dismay.
Amina Zia Massoud, daughter of a vice-presidential hopeful, called the freed men dangerous in a Twitter post. “Taliban criminals who are released always restore back to fighting,” she wrote. A security analyst and former general, Javid Kohistani, said Karzai’s aim in freeing the detainees was to “prompt the Taliban to start talks with his government or get their support to vote for his favorite in the presidential election.”
But some people said the release was an important way to demonstrate Afghanistan’s sovereignty and added that holding people for years without trial was a crime in itself. Right groups in the past have voiced their objections about the detentions without trial at Bagram. Amina Zia Massoud, daughter of a vice presidential hopeful, called the freed men dangerous. “Taliban criminals who are released always restore back to fighting,” she wrote in a Twitter post.
The Taliban has yet to comment about the releases. Londoño reported from Washington. Tim Craig in Afghanistan contributed to this report.
Tim Craig contributed to this report.