KABUL (SW): On various special occasions like Eid and Independence day, the President issues pardon decrees for various prisoners across the country but mystery surrounds who exactly gets the bailout.
Many among those prisoners who were released following the President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani’s decree on Eid ul-Fitr earlier this month claim only those paying bribe to the jail authorities get their names listed for the release and the rest remain denied of their due rights.
103 prisoners who were sentenced to some 6 to 10 years behind bars were released last week from the capital’s Pul-e-Charki prison. A number of those released claimed those who had no money to bribe the jail authorities were not considered at all.
Aziz Ahmad Sarbaz, an official at the Department of Prison denied the allegations. He told SW processing the President’s decree is done on merit and only the deserving inmates are pardoned.
Easy access to drugs was another shocking revelation the liberated inmates made. The prisoners said the number of addicted inmates was on the rise as they were provided with the drugs they needed in return of cash.
Sardar Muhammad Zazai, Head of the Central Prison confirms the presence of addicted prisoners. He said they were addicted before being sentenced to prison.
Currently around 80000 prisoners are serving their terms in the Pul-i-Charki prison alone.
ENDS
