Afghanistan: dive into Pul-e Charkhi prison, reconquered by the Taliban

Pul-e Charkhi Prison is a high security facility located on the outskirts of Kabul. Used by the United States during its troops’ presence in Afghanistan, the facility was nicknamed “Guantanamo.” It is estimated that approximately 2,500 combatants were imprisoned here.

Today, these men have become the prison guards. Most of the cells are now empty. They remind these men of the humiliations and injustices they say they experienced here.

“The conditions here were far from ideal, says our special correspondent, Anelise Borges. According to these guards, the cells were “overcrowded” and “disgusting”, in their own words. Now that the Taliban have taken control of Afghanistan, there are around 60 prisoners left in this complex, treated fairly, they say. the guards.”

“We are trying to keep crime rates low. And measures will be announced in about a week“, assures Sharafatullah Hozaifa, who has just been appointed director of Pul-e Charkhi.

Faithful to official statements, he assures that everything has been forgiven, and that it is now time for the country to open a new chapter in its history: “We don’t want revenge. The amnesty has been announced. All Afghans who were soldiers or police were forgiven.”

“We are not criminals”

But as we continued with the visit, prisoners told us a different story, such as Mohammed, 22, resident of Kabul: “There were four of us and we went to a hotel. We wanted to buy food. Each chicken cost 200 afghani. And we bought two. And bread. The total was 500 afghanis. But the hotel said 750. And I said no, why 250 more? I said that I had no more money, and I asked them to take my phone so that I could go and get more money. And then a soldier came, he hit us and carried us here”

“No one wants to be imprisoned. We don’t want to be here anymore. We want to be with our families. We are not criminals. They have no proof of our crimes. Every day here is as long as a year“, continues the young man.

Mohammed’s family probably don’t know his whereabouts. And the Taliban guards haven’t told us how long they plan to keep him here.

“As they escorted us out of Pul-e Charkhi, they spoke of a new, fairer Afghanistan where everyone would be treated fairly. __The future will tell if the Taliban will keep this promise“, concludes our special correspondent.