PRT/TARIN KOWT: DOING HARD TIME IN URUZGAN PROVINCE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 000276

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SA/FO AMBASSADOR QUINN, S/CT, SA/A, EUR/RPM,
EUR/UBI
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN, KAMEND
SENSITIVE
REL NATO/ISAF/AUS/NZ

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KJUS AF
SUBJECT: PRT/TARIN KOWT: DOING HARD TIME IN URUZGAN PROVINCE


1. (SBU) Summary: A USG team visiting Uruzgan
Provincial Prison found that the warden and prison
guards, although untrained, were paid regularly and
were interested in receiving training and improving
the facility. The prison and administrative buildings
were largely crumbling mud-brick structures which had
collapsed in the past; prisoners did not have access
to potable water. However, an inspection of the
facility and interviews with inmates revealed that
prisoners were generally healthy, fed regularly, and
not mistreated. Indeed, living conditions at the
prison compared favorably with villages and police and
army barracks PRToff has visited in the province. The
main area of concern actually had little to do with
the prison itself; rather, it was the absence of any
uniform judicial process. Neither guards nor inmates
had any idea about the length of prison sentences or
possibilities of reprieve or appeal. Inmates were
remanded to the Warden by the Governor or District
Chiefs and remained incarcerated until the Governor
ordered their release. End summary.


2. (SBU) PRToff, DynCorps Police Mentors, and the
Military Police Advisory Team (MPAT) visited the
Uruzgan Provincial Prison on December 30, 2005, where
they spoke with the Warden, inspected the prison, and
interviewed several inmates.

Prison Personnel
--------------


3. (SBU) The Uruzgan Provincial Prison is operated by
a private contractor, Sadar Mohammed, who was not
present on the day of the visit. Governor Jan
Mohammed Khan appointed (or awarded a contract to)
Sadar Mohammed Khan a year ago. Although nominally
under the authority of (and apparently financed by)
the Ministry of Justice (MOJ),Mohammed and other
prison officials and guards take their orders from the
Provincial Governor.


4. (SBU) Sefallah Khan, as Warden, is responsible for
the day-to-day operation of the prison. Like all of
his men, he has received no training but expressed an
interest in possible improvements to the prison or its
operation. Mr. Khan supervises 25 guards who also
double as cooks, mechanics, or masons, and take on
other tasks as needed. One literate individual, who
was not present, maintains the prison records in a
locked room (which PRToff and other visitors were not
able to see). Collectively, the guards are armed with
five AK-47 assault rifles and limited ammunition.
During the visit none of the guards were carrying
weapons or in uniform. All the employees, including
Sefallah Khan, live in an administrative building
adjacent to the prison. Guards earn wages of 1500
Afghanis/month (about USD 30) and are paid in three-
month increments of 4500 Afghanis by Sardar Mohammed,
with money he apparently obtains from an MOJ
representative in Kandahar.

Buildings in State of Decay
--------------


5. (SBU) The Uruzgan Prison sits at the edge of Tarin
Kowt about a block from the GovernorQ,s compound. The
prison is actually two compounds, an administrative
building and an adjoining prison separated by a shared
wall. The administrative building is a former
residence surrounded by a typical residential wall
(about two meters high) that houses the warden,
guards, and administrative offices. In the adjacent
compound, the prison consists of a large mud building
with three large cells, a kitchen, a latrine, and a
large yard in back surrounded by a three meter wall
topped with concertina. Guards watch from the roof of
the jail down into the yard. The prison is apparently
designed to house 60 inmates and currently holds 53
prisoners. Both buildings and their compound walls
are in a state of decay, although the crumbling mud
structure of the prison is by far in the worst
condition. Indeed, the Warden related that one of the
prison walls had collapsed the previous year and
killed an inmate (the new but shoddy and unmortared
bricks of one wall validated his statement). Along
with the danger to the prisoners and guards, the
crumbling structure also provides inadequate security
-- 13 inmates have escaped in the last year.

Procedures Lacking
--------------


6. (SBU) The Warden and guards operate on only the
most rudimentary procedures. Individuals are sent to
prison at the order of the Governor, District Chiefs,
Police Chiefs, and occasionally by judges and
prosecutors. There appears to be little or no
criminal procedure guiding the system. Prisoners come
from all over Uruzgan and from a wide cross-section of
tribes (including the GovernorQ,s Populzai tribe).
They arrive with indeterminate sentences and are
incarcerated until the Governor sends a letter
ordering their release. For the most part, the
inmates seem to have no set routine, sometimes working
on handicrafts for income to supplement their diet (or
scheming to escape, given the inadequate security and
poorly armed guards). In any case, the Warden had no
real plan beyond holding and feeding the prisoners --
no thought has been put to usefully employing or
rehabilitating the inmates.

Prisoners Living Conditions
--------------


7. (SBU) The condition of the prisoners is simple but
surprisingly mild relative to the quality of life of
an average farm worker in the province. The prisoners
are assigned to three sleeping rooms that all open out
onto a courtyard. (Note: The Warden claimed that the
most violent prisoners are all housed in one room, but
given the three rooms appeared unsecured and the
inmates moved about freely this assertion is probably
not true. End note.) Although there is no heat and
the inmates have no beds, they are issued blankets and
mats to sleep on. Along with the three sleeping rooms,
there is one communal indoor latrine.


8. (SBU) The prisoners are fed three times a day from
the same kitchen and pantry that the guards use.
Morning meals consist of tea and bread and mid-day and
evening meals consist of tea, bread, and potatoes.
Once a week, beef is served with the evening meal.
Food for prisoners and guards alike is funded by the
MOJ through Sadar Mohammed and purchased locally.
Water for both drinking and hygiene comes from a pool
in the middle of the courtyard. Although the pool
appears to be fed from a pipe or spring and has an
outflow, prisoners it use for all manner of personal
needs and it appeared very unsanitary. Finally,
prisoners may receive visitors for an hour on
Thursdays in a separate room in the prison, although
there was some uncertainty as to whether women can
visit prisoners at all or just not privately.


9. (SBU) By permission of both the Warden and the
prisoners in question, Poloff and MPAT Sergeant
interviewed two prisoners. The first was a farmer
from the western district of Deh Rahwud who shot to
death one of his workers, apparently accidentally.
For this crime, the 19-year old farmer has been
incarcerated for 3 + years. After being arrested he
was sent directly to prison and never went before a
judge. He has no idea how long he will be in prison.
His immediate physical concern was the prison water
supply, which has caused many prisoners to frequently
fall ill. He also noted that the prison provided no
regular medical attention, although very ill prisoners
were taken to a doctor in town. The prisoner was
issued a mattress and blankets and his family had
brought him more. He had no complaints about the
prison staff and said he felt healthy and adequately
fed. While openly conceding to having killed a man,
the young farmer insisted it was an accident and
wanted resolution to his case -- how long must he
serve and for what crime: murder or manslaughter?


10. (SBU) The second inmate was also a farmer, but
from Chora District and, at 35 years old, only three
months into an indeterminate sentence. Also accused
of murder, he claimed that another man has since been
caught for the murder, so now he wants to be released
from prison. Sent to prison at the orders of the
Governor, the farmer indicated that he also never went
before a judge but did go before a prosecutor.
Despite that, he still has no idea how long he will be
in prison. He has been allowed to see visitors but
not his wife, about which he was very distraught. He
also complained about dirty water that caused diarrhea
among many of the prisoners. Responding to a question
from the MPAT Sergeant, he indicated that the
prisoners were beaten with sticks by guards for
misbehaving, but follow-up questions did not elicit
much fear or concern about the beatings; the prisoner
only became agitated discussing the water and his
wife.

Comment
--------------


11. (SBU) Overall the prison had a surprisingly
relaxed atmosphere, with guards and prisoners dressed
alike and largely sharing the same existence. PRToff
noted that the prison compared favorably with army and
police barracks. Although PRToff and MPAT team were
there for only a few hours, at least superficially no
deliberate or cruel treatment seemed evident and any
mistreatment suffered by the inmates likely resulted
from a paucity of resources. The unsanitary water
source was clearly a problem that the PRT will
investigate, but it is a hardly a unique problem to
the prison and indeed is endemic throughout the
province.


12. (SBU) The most troubling issue from this visit was
a reflection not so much on the penal system but on
the judicial process. Neither the guards nor the
prisoners seemed familiar with any legal procedures
and neither group had any idea of the length of
prisonersQ, sentences. Thus, although by Afghan
standards the prisoners were not physically abused,
they certainly languish in a deeply uncertain state of
imprisonment that itself is no small form of
mistreatment.
NORLAND