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By U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Nicholas Mercurio
Kunar Provincial Reconstruction Team
SHIGAL DISTRICT, Afghanistan - Representatives from the Afghan government, most notably Minister of Justice Habibullah Ghaleb and National Director of Prisons Lt. Gen. Amir Jamshid, were on hand for the Kunar Prison ribbon-cutting ceremony Dec. 23.
Ghaleb and Jamshid, alongside Kunar Provincial Gov. Fazlullah Wahidi and U.S. Navy Cmdr. Brian Goss of Annapolis, Md., Kunar Provincial Reconstruction Team commander, officially opened the $1.75 million detention center before a crowd of more than 100 provincial officials and local elders.
Located just north of the Kunar provincial capital of Asadabad in the Shigal District, the facility, built by New Safi Construction and Suppliers, includes 80 male cells, 20 female cells, an administration building, clinic, mosque and dining facility within 340 meters of retaining wall.
During his remarks, Jamshid described the Kunar Prison as, “the best in all the 34 provinces of Afghanistan.”
In addition to housing inmates slated to be relocated from the overcrowded detention center in Asadabad, the prison will provide literacy and vocational studies to prisoners aimed at rehabilitating criminals before returning them to society.
“It should be called a literacy center, not a detention center,” quipped Ghaleb. “We really appreciate those who worked so hard to make this prison a reality. I am really proud of this facility.”
“This prison is a symbol of justice,” said Abraham Sutherland of Santa Barbara, Calif., U.S. Department of State rule of law adviser to Kunar province. However, “it is a symbol only if the system is fair,” he cautioned.
The way to ensure openness and honesty amongst all participants in the judicial system is public trials, Sutherland said. The leadership of Kunar, understanding this, has provided an example for the rest of Afghanistan in holding a number of public trials at the provincial and district levels. “Honest men are safe from crime because there is justice in Kunar,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 12.23.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 12.28.2010 14:27 |
| Story ID: | 62713 |
| Location: | SHIGAL DISTRICT, AF |
| Web Views: | 147 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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