A British programme to transfer detainees captured in Afghanistan to local officials is to be restarted now that Britain has found a "safe" method of doing so, the Ministry of Defence in London said Thursday Britain stopped transfers in November, due to fears the detainees were being mistreated.
The ministry said the detainees would be moved to the Afghan National Detention Facility in Parwan. It said "interested parties" had been informed that the transfers were to be resumed after 21 days. The move comes a week after Defence Minister Philip Hammond denied accusations that the army was holding around 90 detainees illegally at its main base in Afghanistan, Camp Bastion in Helmand province.
The detentions were legal, he said. Those being held were suspected of crimes including the murder of British troops and the planting of roadside bombs, according to Hammond. A "safe transfer route to Afghan custody" had now been found, he said Thursday.
"I very much hope we do not face any further legal impediments in the British courts which could prevent us from transferring these detainees and force us to hold them for even longer in Camp Bastion," said Hammond. The Afghan government welcomed the decision. "We consider it a positive step," said Zahir Azimi, an Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman.
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