Afghanistan’s Taliban administration released about 2,500 detainees ahead of Ramadan celebrations, the Supreme Court announced on Saturday, in a country where the UN has warned of a swelling prison population. The actual number of detainees held by various security authorities in Afghanistan is unknown, but a spokesman for the Office of Prison Administration (OPA) told AFP on Saturday that between 11,000 and 12,000 convicted prisoners were under the authority’s custody.
According to spokesman Mohamad Nasim Lalahand, approximately the same number are in detention awaiting trial, punishment, or appeal. According to a proclamation issued by the Taliban supreme leader, “2,463 prisoners who were eligible for amnesty were released, while 3,152 others received sentence reductions” (X).
The release of detainees guilty of minor crimes is usual practice in advance of the Eid al-Fitr festival, which is slated to begin on Sunday or Monday. According to local media, Taliban authorities freed over 2,800 inmates last year, just before Ramadan ended.
Last October, the United Nations mission to Afghanistan, UNAMA, stated the OPA notified that the jail population was growing, “with more detainees admitted daily than are released”. UNAMA warned that increasing numbers of arrests and lengthy prison terms would put “unsustainable pressure on prison facilities.
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