Pol-e-Charkhi prisoners on hunger strike

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AT-KABUL: Inmates in the Pol-e-Charkhi prison continue hunger strike, saying they were deprived of presidential amnesty orders, transferring them to the jails in their respective provinces, misbehavior by the jailers and bad accommodation.

The inmates have claimed that some of their fellow-prisoners have died due to the strike, while some others were in critical health condition.

“We are in hunger strike for 10 days, seven of the prisoners have lost their lives. Nobody pays attention to us. We are really miserable,” Ahmad, one of the prisoners said.

Farid, another inmate, said that 300 of them were in coma.

The hunger strike began last Sunday.

Government officials are yet to comment on the number of inmates on hunger strike, but the prisoners say about 1,000 have stopped eating and drinking.

Mohammad Halim Kohistani, head of prisons rejected anybody dead, saying the “false hunger strike” was organized by some terrorist groups outside the prison.

He said the inmates’ complaints were unreal and their demands were illegal.

Rights activist, Kabir Ranjbar, said the attorney general office should prosecute the inmates’ complaints. If they were right, their demands should be met, otherwise, their demands would be illegal.

“Regarding the pardoning of inmates, the president has the right to make decision based on the constitution. He cannot act out of the law,” said Ranjbar.

Jamshid Rasouli, spokesman of the attorney general’s office, said there were legal limitations regarding the demands of the inmates.

“Our colleagues met with the inmates when they started hunger strike. Most of them are the national security criminals and their demands are out of law and there are legal limitations to grant them pardon,” said Rasouli.