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US shuts its last prison in Afghanistan US shuts its last prison in Afghanistan
(about 2 hours later)
The US has shut its last detention facility in Afghanistan and has no more prisoners there, officials said – closing a much-criticised chapter in Washington’s fight against Islamic extremism.The US has shut its last detention facility in Afghanistan and has no more prisoners there, officials said – closing a much-criticised chapter in Washington’s fight against Islamic extremism.
The US Department of Defense said it had recently transferred the last detainees from Bagram airfield, north of the capital, Kabul. It closed the prison there on 10 December, a day after a Senate report detailed abuse at a secret CIA prison in Afghanistan. The US Department of Defense said it had recently transferred the last detainees from Bagram airfield, north of the Afghan capital, Kabul. It closed the prison there on 10 December, a day after a Senate report detailed abuse at a secret CIA prison in the country.
The US embassy in Kabul said the closure decision was linked to a deadline to end the detention programme in Afghanistan this year, not to the Senate report. “The government of Afghanistan will be responsible for all detention facilities” from 1 January, an embassy spokesman said. The US embassy in Kabul said the move was linked to a deadline to end the detention programme in Afghanistan this year, and not the Senate report. “The government of Afghanistan will be responsible for all detention facilities” from 1 January, an embassy spokesman said.
Foreign prisoners at the various sites in Bagram, often compared to Cuba’s Guantánamo Bay prison, were given no trials, facing only review boards staffed by US military officers. At its peak, the Bagram prison held hundreds of detainees.Foreign prisoners at the various sites in Bagram, often compared to Cuba’s Guantánamo Bay prison, were given no trials, facing only review boards staffed by US military officers. At its peak, the Bagram prison held hundreds of detainees.
A US court found two adult detainees had been beaten to death at Bagram in 2002. The US government said such cases of abuse were rare.A US court found two adult detainees had been beaten to death at Bagram in 2002. The US government said such cases of abuse were rare.
The last few weeks have seen a flurry of transfers from Bagram, including a top Pakistani Taliban militant returned to Pakistan this week. Tunisian detainee Redha al Najar was placed in Afghan custody on Tuesday, his lawyer said. The last few weeks have seen a flurry of transfers from Bagram, including a top Pakistani Taliban militant returned to Pakistan this week. Tunisian detainee Redha al-Najar was placed in Afghan custody on Tuesday, his lawyer said.
Najar, one of the longest-serving detainees in the US “war on terror”, was captured as a suspected bodyguard of Osama Bin Laden in May 2002. Najar, one of the longest-serving detainees in the US “war on terror”, was captured as a suspected bodyguard of Osama bin Laden in May 2002.
He and another Tunisian, who was also said to have been transferred to Afghan custody, received harsh treatment at a secret CIA facility that the intelligence agency described as a “dungeon” in the Senate report.He and another Tunisian, who was also said to have been transferred to Afghan custody, received harsh treatment at a secret CIA facility that the intelligence agency described as a “dungeon” in the Senate report.