Deplorable conditions at Shebarghan prison

Conditions at the Shebarghan prison in northern Afghanistan, home to some 3,000 pro-Taliban former combatants, are raising serious concern among human rights groups. The outcry follows a report released this week by the US-based activist group, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), - it described conditions at the facility as "deplorable".

"We are gravely concerned about conditions in Shebarghan, particularly the reports of over crowding, unhygienic conditions, lack of heating and the use of heavy feet manacles," Maya Catsanis, spokesperson for Amnesty International (AI) told IRIN on Tuesday from London. "Somebody needs to take responsibility for the treatment of these prisoners before conditions deteriorate further," she added.

Echoing this concern was I.A. Rehman, director of Pakistan's Human Rights Commission. "This is a gross violation of the Geneva convention," he told IRIN from the western city of Lahore. "Regardless of the grounds of these people's detention, they are entitled to human dignity," he maintained.

But according to the PHR report issued on Monday, conditions at the prison west of the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif were far from dignified.
See full copy at www.phrusa.org/research/afghanistan/photos_jan02.html
During the delegation's week-long inspection of Shebarghan, investigators found overcrowding, nonexistent sanitation, exposure to winter cold, inadequate food and no medical supplies, resulting in epidemic illness and deaths. PHR concluded conditions at the prison were a grave violation of international standards for the treatment of prisoners.

Under the authority of ethnic Uzbek warlord, Abdul-Rashid Dostum, the facilities were completely inadequate to care for the estimated 3,000 to 3,500 prisoners currently being held, the report said, with cells originally constructed to house between 10 and 15 prisoners now holding 80 to 110. Lack of supplies and primitive facilities were hampering the prison's capacity to provide even basic medical care. Dysentery and yellow jaundice, most likely due to Hepatitis A, were epidemic and many prisoners complained of stomach and respiratory problems, the report maintained.

According to the prison commander, General Jarobak, who escorted the PHR group, "Many, many, many prisoners had already died", mainly from dysentery, some from pneumonia.

During the first two to three weeks of prisoner arrivals, US military authorities controlled access to the facility and conducted prisoner interviews to select those that they wished to move to the southern city of Kandahar and, later, Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for further questioning. Although US military forces left the prison in mid-January, PHR believes the US is responsible for ensuring improvements are made to the prison.

"The United States cannot wash its hands of responsibility for prisoners whose fate from the start it has been in a position to influence or determine," Dr Jennifer Leaning, a member of the three-person PHR delegation said. "The military units under General Dostum do not have the resources to support a prison population of this size."

While the PHR team did not see all the cell blocks in the prison, based on interviews and observations made, there were no indications that the prisoners were being deliberately abused, tortured or psychologically tormented, the report said. The commanding officer had submitted requests for further assistance and additional resources to the international community, though he reported that the response had been minimal, the report noted.

What will ultimately happen to the detainees remains unclear. "You had international tribunals in Kosovo and elsewhere, why not here?" Rehman asked. He called on UN agencies to play a greater role in monitoring the situation and criticised his own government for not seeking the release of the estimated 1,000 Pakistanis being held at Shebarghan. "We are deeply concerned about this," he said. Concerned or not, the issue has yet to be settled.

PHR maintains that Afghanistan's Interim Administration, with the close support of the US government and the international community, should work quickly to provide both the security and resources needed to improve conditions at Shebarghan and similar facilities in Afghanistan.

The group added under international humanitarian law, all combatants, whether designated prisoners of war under the Third Geneva Convention, or detainees in an internal armed conflict under Common Article 3 of the Conventions, must be granted adequate food, shelter, water, and medical care.

Sharing this view, spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Michael Kleiner told IRIN from the Afghan capital Kabul: "Together with the authorities, ICRC is working to improve conditions inside the prison."

ICRC has been visiting the detainees since the end of December and while conditions inside the prison remain confidential between ICRC and the detaining authorities to ensure continuous access to the detainees, Kleiner emphasised that ICRC has a policy of "responsibilising" authorities to take care of the detainees, adding: "Providing food is a basic responsibility of any detaining authority and we are working with the authorities to ensure that this happens."