Great Satan US expresses ‘concerns’ over Afghan prisoner release

The US Department of State has expressed “concerns” over Afghanistan’s planned release of scores of prisoners whom it describes as “dangerous criminals.”

“We have expressed our concerns over the possible release of these detainees without their cases being referred to the Afghan criminal justice system,” US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

The Afghan government is planning to release 72 of the 88 prisoners previously held by US forces at the Bagram military base, north of capital Kabul.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said in a statement that a review of the prisoners’ cases by Afghan intelligence and judicial officials has found no evidence of wrongdoing against 45 of the prisoners and not enough evidence against the remaining 27.

However, the US says the prisoners are “dangerous criminals” who have been involved in wounding and killing of US-led troops.

Last week, senators Lindsey Graham, John McCain, and John Barrasso, who were on an official trip to Afghanistan, threatened Kabul that the release of prisoners “would be a major step backward” for US-Afghan ties.

The planned release of the prisoners would put further strain on Washington-Kabul relations as the two sides are still at loggerheads over a security deal that would allow thousands of US troops to stay in Afghanistan for up to a decade beyond 2014.

Last year, the administration of US President Barack Obama extended the deadline for signing the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) to January despite an earlier ultimatum that the deal must be signed by the end of December.

Nevertheless, US ambassador to Afghanistan James Cunningham has privately warned the Obama administration that his efforts to persuade the Afghan President to sign the deal with Washington have failed as Karzai is unlikely to sign the agreement on the US timetable.