Prison guards supply knives, phones to inmates: Ghalib

KABUL):  Afghan prison guards supplied knives and mobile phone sets to inmates of different jails in return for bribes, the minister of justice said on Wednesday.

Officials were trying to prevent such acts but they could not succeed, Habibullah Ghalib told reporters in Parliament. “We search each inmate’s cell every second week, but they still have knives and mobile phones.”

The authorities, who lack modern facilities, could not prevent quarrels in prisons, according to the minister, who said they did not have special vehicles for transferring prisoners from one place to another.

Ghalib conceded most detention facilities were crowded, as the number of inmates increased by 24 percent this year, compared to 2010.

Internal security of jails was the justice ministry’s duty, while the interior ministry maintained external security, he explained. He suggested the internal security responsibility should also be transferred to the interior ministry.

About 10,000 policemen were needed to ensure security for prisons, the minister said. Presently, only 2,000 policemen are tasked with jail security.

myn/mud

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