KABUL - The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission on Tuesday said it has prepared a new report on Afghan prisons and it is concerned about the situation there. The report covers torture and human rights' violations in Afghan detention centers. The commission reviewed all Afghan prisons including the US-run Bagram detention center and found there were shortfalls in the way the prisons are run.

Afghanistan still has a long way to go before its prisons are well run, Mohammad Musa Mahmoodi, the head of the AIHRC told TOLOnews.
"It's a major challenge ahead of us and needs serious attention," he said.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai recently decided to change how prisons are run in two ways. He transferred the responsibility for running prisons from the justice to the interior ministry. The AIHRC opposed this, as did other international rights groups including Human Rights Watch.

Mr. Karzai also ordered that all prisons, including Bagram, be transferred under the control of the Afghan authorities.

"Based on the law, the Afghan Ministry of Justice should have the responsibility for detention centers and we have always preferred that," Mr. Mahmoodi added.

The Afghan Ministry of Interior welcomed the decision, saying it is capable of taking over the control of prisons.
Excluding Bagram, there are 34 detention centers in Afghanistan accommodating 22,000 detainees.