MOI deny Afghan prison’s invasive searches of female visitors

This comes as the Afghan and US officials recently said security forces in Kabul Pul-e-Charkhi prison conduct body search and in some cases sensitive body parts of the female visitors are being checked while they visit their detained relatives AOP reported.

A former Pul-e-Charkhi prison official speaking on the condition of anonymity told BBC, female visitors are being checked only if the security forces are suspicious of the visitors.

Pul-e-charkhi prison is one of the biggest detention centers in Afghanistan but the prison still lack modern electric equipments to check the visitors.

Women visitors are strictly checked where in some cases sensitive body parts of the women are being checked by female inspectors.

New York Times in its latest report said Washington halted its financial support to the Pul-e-Charkhi prison after the Afghan Interior Ministry denied to accept continuous requests to halt such inspections.

Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi the female visitors have not faced any offensive while they are inspected to visit the prison.

A former prison official speaking on the condition of anonymity said, female visitors in a number of cases in the past were hiding prohibited items including mobile phones and drugs under their dresses and were transporting them inside the jail which forced the prison officials to implement further restrictions but he emphasized that this is not a general issue.

United States has spent more than $14 million for the reconstruction of Pul-e-Charkhi prison since June 2009.

More than 7,000 detainees are being kept inside the Pul-e-Charkhi prison currently, which includes Taliban detainees, drugs smugglers and general detainees who have committed ordinary crimes.