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The trial of an Afghan man accused of war crimes against political prisoners began today in The Hague, the Netherlands.
He is said to have overseen a notorious prison in Kabul at the time he allegedly committed the crimes.
The accused, identified as Abdul R., 76, is accused of being the commander of the Pul-e-Charkhi prison, in which prisoners were held without trial, tortured and executed.
He is accused of aiding and abetting inhuman treatment and deprivation of liberty. If found guilty he could face up to 20 years in prison and up to life in prison.
The accused told judges in The Hague that the Prosecution had confused him with someone else.
“I am not the person you are looking for,” he told the court, after which he refused to answer questions, saying he did not feel well and wanted to return to his prison cell.
“I do not remember anything, not even my name,” he said.
Prosecutors said they were convinced the accused was the person responsible for the crimes. They said he had been the commander and head of political affairs in prison from 1983 to 1990, at a time when thousands of opponents of the communist regime were being held without trial.
Witness testimonies read in court said that people were regularly subjected to torture, including electroshock torture, beatings, nail removal, and that prisoners were held in poor conditions.
“The prisoners were executed without trial. “The prisoners were killed at night,” said a witness.
This trial is taking place in the Netherlands because the suspect has Dutch citizenship. He had come to this state in 2001, using a false identity.
The accused was arrested at his home in Kerkrade in 2019 and has since been in jail.
“We think it is important that these crimes, which are the most serious, be tried, regardless of how long it may have been since they were committed,” prosecutor Mirjam Blom told the AP.
“We do not want the Netherlands to be a safe haven for war criminals even if those crimes took place a long time ago and far away from the Netherlands.”
This trial in the Netherlands is the latest in a series of trials being held in European countries, where people from countries such as Syria and Afghanistan are being tried./ REL
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