Afghanistan: Taliban frees 2,500 prisoners ahead of Eid

Afghanistan’s Taliban government released nearly 2,500 prisoners ahead of celebrations marking the end of Ramadan, the supreme court said on Saturday, in a country where the UN has warned of a growing prison population.

The exact number of prisoners held by various security bodies in Afghanistan is unclear, but a spokesman for the Office of Prison Administration (OPA) told AFP on Saturday between 11,000 and 12,000 convicted prisoners were in the authority’s custody.

Around the same number are in detention awaiting trial, sentencing or appeal, spokesman Mohamad Nasim Lalahand added.

The supreme court said on X that “2,463 prisoners who were eligible for amnesty were released, while 3,152 others received sentence reductions” as per a decree by the Taliban supreme leader.

The release of prisoners convicted of minor crimes is common practice ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, expected to start on Sunday or Monday.

Last year, Taliban authorities released around 2,800 prisoners ahead of the end of Ramadan, local media reported.

More from World

No bounty on Sirajuddin Haqqani, embassy to reopen in Kabul? Is the US quietly ending the Taliban’s isolation? Taliban leader declares democracy 'dead' in Afghanistan, says no need for western laws

Last October, the United Nations mission to Afghanistan, UNAMA, said it was informed by the OPA that the prison population was growing, “with more detainees admitted daily than are released”.

UNAMA warned of high volumes of arrests and lengthy jail-time sentences putting “unsustainable pressure on prison facilities”.