Afghanistan frees prisoners despite U.S. objections

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Afghanistan frees prisoners despite U.S. objections
2/13/2014 9:29:26 AM

Afghan authorities say they don't have enough evidence to keep 65 prisoners the U.S. calls "dangerous insurgents" behind bars in Bagram prison.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: "We took this decision according to our law," the Afghan attorney general says
• The U.S. Embassy in Kabul says the prisoner release is "deeply regrettable"
• The U.S. military says some of those freed are linked to attacks on American troops
• Afghanistan says it doesn't have enough evidence to keep them behind bars

(CNN) -- Afghan authorities released 65 prisoners Thursday despite strong objections from the United States, which calls them "dangerous insurgents" who pose a threat to security forces and civilians.

The U.S. military in Afghanistan said some of the men are "directly linked" to attacks that killed or wounded 32 American or coalition service members and 23 Afghan security personnel or civilians.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul called the move "deeply regrettable," saying the Afghan government "bears responsibility for the results of its decision."

The controversial prisoner release comes amid broader tensions between Washington and Kabul over Afghan President Hamid Karzai's current unwillingness to sign a bilateral security agreement to keep some U.S. and other coalition troops in Afghanistan after this year.

U.S. authorities have repeatedly aired in public their displeasure over the likely release of the prisoners.

"We have made clear our judgment that these individuals should be prosecuted under Afghan law. We requested that the cases be carefully reviewed," the U.S. military said ahead of the release. "But the evidence against them was never seriously considered, including by the attorney general, given the short time since the decision was made to transfer these cases to the Afghan legal system."

Releasing them, the military said, violates agreements between the United States and Afghanistan and is "a major step backward for the rule of law in Afghanistan."

For its part, Afghanistan says it doesn't have enough evidence to keep the 65 prisoners behind bars.

"We took this decision according to our law," said Mohammad Ishaq Aloko, the Afghan attorney general.

Abdul Shukor Dadras, head of the Afghan Review Board, said the attorney general ordered the prisoners' release from the Parwan Detention Center -- formerly known as Bagram prison -- after a careful review of 88 cases.

The U.S. military's statement detailed evidence against several of the suspects, noting that the group included an alleged Taliban explosives expert, a suspected Haqqani network commander and a specialist accused of building and placing improvised explosive devices.

"These individuals are dangerous," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said Wednesday. "They pose threats to the safety and security of the Afghan people and the Afghan state."

It's not the first time Afghanistan's decision to release prisoners has upset the United States.

The early and pretrial release of prisoners by the Afghan government, at times at Karzai's hand, frustrated U.S. officials, diplomatic documents released in 2010 by WikiLeaks revealed.

CNN's Catherine E. Shoichet, Qadir Sediqi, Barbara Starr, Elizabeth Joseph and Sara Mazloumsaki contributed to this report.

 

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