Kunar prisoners accuse jail officials of taking bribes

ASADABAD (PAN): Prisoners at the central jail in eastern Kunar province on Sunday accused the jail officials of not properly following their cases and demanding money in this regard, an accusation rejected by the officials concerned.

The inmates also said a lack of electricity and clean drinking water was among several other problems they were faced with in the prison.

A prisoner, speaking on condition of anonymity, said judges and public prosecutors were very unkind and cruel to him.

“To be very honest, they have demanded money in bribe from all of us and those refusing are being mistreated,” he said.

Another inmate Shah Jehan from Angam district claimed several innocent people brought to the jail were later implicated in various cases and granted jail terms.

The prisoners were provided with only three hours electricity a day during the winter with no hot water available at the prison, complained another prisoner, Farooq.

The central jail commander Abdul Wahid Noorgulai acknowledged the problems facing prisoners, blaming winter for a lack of power and water.

He claimed to have discussed the issues with provincial departments and the Provincial Reconstruction), but there has been no positive response.

Appellate court head, Muhammad Shoaib, rejected the bribery blame, saying giving and receiving bribe was a crime and several people had been arrested in connection with such cases. “If anyone has a complaint about a prosecutor, he can tell me in order to deal the prosecutor according to the law.”

mas/ma

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