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Afghan prison commander jailed for 12 years for war crimes by Dutch court
An Afghan man was convicted by a Dutch court on Thursday of war crimes and torture for abusing political opponents at Kabul’s Pul-e-Charkhi prison in the 1980s and was sentenced to 12 years in jail.
Judges said the man, 76, who had been calling himself Abdul Rafief, was actually Abdul Razaq Arif who served as commander of the prison between 1983 and 1990. They dismissed his testimony that he was the victim of a mistaken identity, Reuters reported.
A lawyer for Arif said he would appeal.
Arif arrived in the Netherlands seeking asylum under the Rafief name in 2001 and since became a Dutch national.
He was being tried under “universal jurisdiction” principles, which say suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity can be prosecuted abroad if they cannot be tried in the country where they were allegedly committed, Reuters reported.
According to prosecutors, Arif was responsible for political prisoners in the jail, who were held in inhumane conditions in the facility. Guards under his command beat, tortured and executed prisoners, they said.
During the trial prosecutors cited witnesses who identified “Rafief” as Arif to investigative judges. One victim told judges he still suffered sleepless nights from the psychological torture he underwent in prison.
In the 1980s, Afghanistan’s Soviet-backed government was fighting a guerrilla war against “Mujahideen” Islamist rebels at the time, following the Soviet invasion in 1979.
The Netherlands has previously tried three high ranking officials of the Afghan military intelligence service for similar crimes in the same period in Afghanistan.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has announced that it will continue providing its essential health services to the people of Afghanistan.
In a post on X, the organization, referring to Afghanistan’s health needs, said that over the past year it has been active in various health sectors across the country, ranging from maternal and child care to emergency response, as well as the treatment of patients suffering from tuberculosis and severe injuries.
According to MSF, its teams over the past year have been present at a range of health facilities, including neonatal intensive care units, operating theatres, surgical centers, and specialized tuberculosis treatment wards, where they have delivered life-saving services to patients.
The organization stressed that it will continue ensuring the provision of health services, particularly for needy families and vulnerable communities in remote areas of Afghanistan.
The Embassy of Afghanistan in Japan, currently run by diplomats of the previous government, has announced that it will suspend its operations in Tokyo after the end of January 2026.
In a statement issued on Friday, the embassy said the decision was made after consultations with Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in close coordination with Japanese authorities, and in accordance with the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The embassy added that after January 31, all of its political, economic, cultural, and consular activities will be halted until further notice.
Currently, Shaida Abdali is serving as Afghanistan’s ambassador to Japan.
Sadin Ayyıldız, Chargé d’Affaires of the Turkish Embassy in Kabul, held a courtesy meeting with Zakir Jalali, the Second Political Deputy of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the occasion of the start of his mission.
The Turkish Embassy in Kabul said in a post that the meeting included mutual exchanges of views on bilateral relations.
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