U.S., Afghanistan Reach Prison Transfer Deal

[unhappycamper]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/23/us-afghanistan-prison-transfer-deal_n_2940602.html



In this Monday, April 25, 2011 file photo, a prisoner looks out of his cell window at the main prison in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

U.S., Afghanistan Reach Prison Transfer Deal
By LOLITA C. BALDOR 03/23/13 04:04 PM ET EDT

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. has reached an agreement with the Afghanistan government to transfer the Parwan Detention Facility to Afghan control, the Pentagon said Saturday, two weeks after negotiations broke down over whether the U.S. would have the power to block the release of some detainees.

According to a senior U.S. official, a key element to the agreement is that the Afghans can invoke a procedure that insures prisoners considered dangerous would not be released from the detention center. The agreement also includes a provision that allows the two sides to work together to resolve any differences. The official lacked authorization to discuss the details of the agreement publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Transfer of the Parwan detention center on Monday is critical to the ongoing effort to gradually shift control of the country's security to the Afghans as the U.S. and allies move toward the full withdrawal of combat troops by the end of 2014.

Afghans demanded control of the center, but U.S. officials have worried that the most threatening detainees would be freed once the U.S. transferred control. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke with Afghan President Hamid Karzai Saturday as officials finalized the agreement after days of intense negotiations.