15 April 2022
A 76-year-old Afghan man from Kerkrade, who had received in asylum in the Netherlands in 2001 and became a Dutch citizen, was sentenced on 14 April 2021 to twelve years in prison for war crimes committed in Afghanistan between 1983-1987. At the time, the man worked in the Pul-e-Charkhi prison where opponents of the regime in Kabul were imprisoned as political prisoners during the civil war, under appalling conditions.
The man was found guilty of war crimes, as the court found he had played a decisive role in the situation in prison from his leadership position. Not only did he fail to use the opportunity to improve the situation of the prisoners, he also maltreated the prisoners and arbitrarily deprived them of their freedom. These are war crimes: he has acted in violation of international humanitarian law.