Afghans agree to take over U.S. prison at Bagram

[SpartanDem]

Source: Reuters

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan officials agreed on Saturday to take over responsibility for the U.S. military's Bagram prison north of Kabul, a move that could close a chapter in the troubled history of U.S. detentions since 2001.

The jail at Bagram, where U.S. troops beat to death two prisoners in 2002, stands beside Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and Abu Ghraib in Iraq as a symbol of harsh treatment of detainees under the administration of ex-President George W. Bush.

Set up to hold prisoners caught in the campaign against the Taliban after the September 11 attacks on the United States, it was housed for eight years in an ex-Soviet aircraft hangar, until last month when that was shut and replaced with a purpose-built $60 million prison Washington says meets international standards.

U.S. forces have long said the goal was eventually to hand the prison over to Afghans. President Hamid Karzai has called for an end to detentions by foreign countries on Afghan soil. The Afghan Defense Ministry said in a statement an agreement had been signed that would see the Afghan government take over operation of the prison and responsibility for "investigating, detaining, observing and trying" its inmates.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6081IN20100109

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[benld74]

2. Major Prison Break in 3,2,,,,

[mzmolly]

3. Meet the new boss, same as the old...

nevermind. ;)