kabul, oct. 24 2021 – “in order to get rid of torture, someone swallowed a blade and committed suicide” – former prisoners at bagram prison in afghanistan have exposed the abuse of prisoners by u.s. troops
abdul halim
“the u.s. soldiers beat, abused, humiliated us, and made us miserable. some people choose to swallow the blade to kill themselves in order to get rid of the unscioned torture of american soldiers. abdul qadir hijran, a former prisoner at bagram prison in afghanistan, told xinhua.
“thirty-four people were huddled in a large iron cage, and the prison didn’t give blankets or mats.” recalling life in bagram prison, hijran described it this way.
in addition to poor living conditions, the prisoners were short of food and drink, mr. hijran said. in case of illness, the prisoner will receive a pill, no longer receive any other treatment, and will have to obey the fate of his life.
bagram prison, 40 km north of the afghan capital kabul, once held thousands of prisoners. the prison has also been dubbed “guantanamo in afghanistan” by the media because of revelations of abuse by the us military. in december 2002, two afghan prisoners were tortured to death by u.s. forces within a week.
in january 2012, the afghan constitutional oversight council published a report alleging that detainees in bagram prison had been beaten and ill-treated. in february 2012, u.s. soldiers burned the quran in the prison. since then, afghan public opinion has seen the government’s ability to take control of the prison as one of the hallmarks of whether the u.s. military respects afghanistan’s national sovereignty.
although u.s. forces in afghanistan formally handed bagram prison over to the afghan government in march 2013, hijran said the actual controller of the prison remains the u.s. military.
“the abuse and torture of me by the u.s. military is unspeakable, and the atrocities they have committed will haunt me for years.” the 29-year-old, from kandahar in southern afghanistan, spent 10 years in prison after being arrested in 2011 for his involvement in anti-american fighting.
after entering kabul on 15 august, the taliban released hijran from prison. “now that peace has arrived in afghanistan, i hope that the world will treat afghanistan in a friendly and fair manner, live in peace with afghanistan, and help afghans live in peace,” he said.
