U.S. hands control of notorious prison to Afghan authorities

U.S. hands control of notorious prison to Afghan authorities
September 10, 2012 - 16:16 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. military has handed control of a controversial prison housing more than 3,000 Taliban fighters and terrorism suspects to the Afghan authorities, BBC News reported.

In a small ceremony, Afghan officials said inmates had been transferred to their authority. The move is part of a deal to transfer all Afghan prisons back to local control ahead of the withdrawal of NATO forces at the end of 2014.

Bagram prison has been at the centre of a number of prisoner abuse allegations. Although Afghan President Hamid Karzai has hailed the handover, disagreements with the U.S. remain.

Washington is insisting that it will maintain control over some detainees in the prison.

The handover took place at a brief ceremony which correspondents say was poorly attended by U.S. and NATO officers.

Partner news
 Top stories
Kerry, Lavrov to discuss Syria in ParisKerry, Lavrov to discuss Syria in Paris
U.S. officials say they want to advance efforts to start talks between the Syrian government and opposition leaders.
Damascus agrees to attend int’l conference in GenevaDamascus agrees to attend int’l conference in Geneva
The international conference, backed by Russia and the U.S., aims to find a political solution to the conflict in Syria.
Obama nominates Victoria Nuland for assistant secretary of stateObama nominates Victoria Nuland for assistant secretary of state
Nuland, a career foreign service officer who was until recently State's top spokesperson, was expected to be nominated the post.
Syrian opposition leader urges Assad to hand power, go abroadSyrian opposition leader urges Assad to hand power, go abroad
Alkhatib said Assad should respond within 20 days and that he should then be given a month to dissolve parliament.
Partner news
 Articles
Switzerland being filled with wealthy citizens of Kazakh origin

One of the most prominent Kazakh citizens, who found refuge on the shores of Lake Geneva - Victor Khrapunov and his family.

 Most popular in the section
Syrian forces storming rebel stronghold of Qusair
Prosecutor in Berlusconi sex trial gets letter with bullets
Germans blame Merkel’s stance in eurozone crisis for Eurovision debacle
$6.4mln spent to build helipad for Putin’s Mi-8 in Kremlin
Home
All news
Overview: World
Archive for September 10, 2012
Other news in this section
 Latest news
ANCA calls for legal actions against Nişanyan sentence The ANCA asked the State Department to condemn the Turkish government's legal actions against Sevan Nişanyan.
U.S. Supreme Court urged to review Genocide-era insurance case The Supreme Court is set to consider all submissions dealing with the Armenian Genocide-era insurance case on June 6.
ANCA testimony to call for conditions on Turkey trade deal ANCA Government Affairs Director Kate Nahapetian will testify this coming week before the U.S. International Trade Commission.
U.S. says Syria conflict threatens Lebanon’s stability Syria has been locked in an increasingly bloody civil war since demonstrations broke out against the Assad regime in March 2011.