ICRC monitoring prisons in Afghanistan

KABUL): The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is monitoring the cases of 661 prisoners and has met with 479 Afghan prisoners.

Over the past two months, the ICRC has observed conditions at 36 prisons across Afghanistan, run by both Afghan and international forces, ICRC spokesman Abdul Hasib Rahimi told Pajhwok Afghan News. He said the ICRC focuses especially on those imprisoned in armed conflicts.

“ICRC’s goal in monitoring prisons is to promote good conditions,” he said.

Rahimi said that the ICRC does not just observe prisons’ conditions but also facilitates contacts between prisoners and their families. Such contacts include video chats, telephone calls, and visits, which the ICRC provides in concert with the Afghan Red Crescent Society.

The ICRC has provided transportation to Bagram for roughly 164 families of prisoners, Rahimi said.

“The ICRC is investigating violations of international humanitarian law in the prisons; it is a violation if the prisoners are not allowed to contact their families,” he said. He added that the ICRC presents such violations to the relevant authorities.

He also said the ICRC tries to help estranged family members contact one another and locate missing persons.

mrh/kg

Visits: 5