Source: TOLO News

On the eve of Eid-e-Miladunnabi, the Birthday of the Prophet Mohammad, President Ashraf Ghani has issued a decree ordering the release of 101 prisoners from Pol-e-Charkhi and women’s jails in Kabul. However, questions have been raised regarding the inamtes’ readiness for freedom given growing rates of drug addiction among prison populations in Afghanistan.

According to the head of the monitoring body in charge of implementing decisions of the Supreme Court, Syed Murad Sharifi, the release process will proceed on the basis of detailed assessments of the different cases.

“Based on Order 39 of the president, 101 prisoners would be released from Pol-e-Charkhi jail and another eight prisoners would be released from the women’s prison and another 18 prisoners released from the child reform and training center,” added Aziz Ahmad Sarbaz, who coordinates the release of pardoned prisoners for the Attorney General’s office.

But former prisoners say drug addiction is an emerging problem among inmates, and for those who are released early, there are virtually no support mechanisms in place to help them readjust to society and kick drug habits they picked up or got worse in prison.

According to a number of newly freed prisoners, illegal drugs such as heroin are sold widely inside the prisons. “The main issue is that the youth are addicted in the prison and it is not clear how they manage to transfer drugs inside the cell,” a newly released prisoner named Umid told TOLOnews.

Officials at Pol-e-Charkhi have said that many individuals have been arrested attempting to transfer drugs to inmates. They said that in most cases it is women who manage to transfer drugs inside, likely a result of reduced security precautions and search procedures.

“A majority of the inmates were detained on charges of drug distribution, and despite our efforts, some of the visiting family members, particularly women, mange to transfer drugs inside,” said Acting Director of Pol-e-Charkhi Abdul Wahid Norgul.

The special commission overseeing the release of prisoners has said that within just one week almost 70 percent of current female prisoners will be released from jails across the country. Many among them were detained for running away from home, an act that is illegal in Afghanistan, yet is often the last resort for women being abused by husbands and family members. Human rights groups and the international community have put pressure on Afghanistan to do away with the law.

There are roughly 20,000 inmates jailed around the country, of which 800 are female and 1,100 are underage youth.