Notes From Bagram Prison (Renamed Parwan)

[tekisui]

Source: Al Jazeera


For the first time, reporters have been taken to the controversial Bagram prison, north of Kabul. I joined the press tour.

It soon became clear this was part of a concerted drive to show Bagram’s new face. In fact, the new prison block, built at a cost of $60 million has been renamed Parwan Detention Facility. (Parwan is the province, north of Kabul, where Bagram is located.)

Bagram numbers
In the past, military officials have refused to go on the record about the number of prisoners at the jail. Brigadier General Mark Martin, the acting commander, was more forthcoming. He told us the prison currently houses about 700 people. Of these, “about 30” were non-Afghans, and “about 5” were juveniles.

Foreign detainees
In a US federal court ruling on April 2nd, Judge Bates ruled that those 30 or so foreign detainees have the right to bring a habeus petition. His ruling is currently being appealed by the Obama administration. I asked whether those covered by the ruling would in the meantime be allowed visits from their lawyers. Brigadier General Martins’ answer was unequivocal, “No. They will be treated like all the other prisoners.”

Old Bagram
We were consistently told the new jail was bigger and better than the existing prison, which is reportedly based in a converted, former aircraft repair shop on Bagram Airfield. The official line, though, is that there was nothing wrong with the old prison, officially called the “Bagram Theatre Internment Facility”. However, I was also told there was no chance of ever filming there, even when it is soon deactivated. The building has apparently been “designated classified.”

Prisoner protest
The International Committee of the Red Cross has since 2008 organised family visits to Bagram. These were cancelled in July, amid reports of a mass protest by prisoners that went on for months. This news was confirmed by a number of military personnel during my trip to Bagram. I was told, “the atmosphere has now improved.”

Transfer to US Government Control
During the press tour, we were told that the new prison would eventually be handed over to the Government of Afghanistan. We were told it had deliberately been built on the edge of Bagram, so that it could be separated from the rest of the airbase. However, no time frame was given for any handover. One senior Afghan official, who was attending the event, told me that the transfer needs to happen as soon as possible. He said the current system “was not helping the Americans or Afghanistan.”

more w/video: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/asia/2009/11/16/notes-bagram-prison

[Solly Mack]

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