Taliban on Sunday reported that at least 1,000 women are currently imprisoned in its detention facilities, out of nearly 11,000 total inmates.
Mohammad Yousuf Mistari, the head of the Taliban’s prison administration, said at a press conference in Kabul that among 11,000 inmates, almost 800 are children.
Mistari added that nearly 12,000 more individuals are being held in detention, awaiting court decisions, though he did not provide further details on these cases.
In a broader context, Mistari claimed that “nearly 6,000 Afghans” are incarcerated in Iran, while 25 Afghan nationals are imprisoned in China, where one inmate has reportedly died. He also mentioned that 150 foreign nationals are held in Taliban prisons but did not specify their countries of origin.
Despite the U.S. has confirmed that three American citizens are being detained by the Taliban, Mistari denied the presence of any American prisoners in its jails, though he acknowledged that they could be held in their detention centers.
Last week, a Taliban prison official told Amu TV that the number of women in Taliban prisons could be as high as 2,000. In July, the Purple Saturdays Movement claimed that the “actual number” of women in Taliban prisons exceeds 2,000.
Torture in Taliban prisons
Amid widespread reports of torture in Taliban prisons, particularly targeting women, former military personnel, and employees of the previous government, Mistari claimed that no such abuse occurs in its facilities.
“Beating prisoners is prohibited in our prisons. We treat inmates as human beings, regardless of their crimes,” he stated.
A United Nations report published on October 23 of last year contradicts these claims, documenting routine “torture and other inhumane treatment” of detainees in prisons managed by the Taliban’s Ministry of Interior and General Directorate of Intelligence.
The report highlighted that most of this abuse takes place during detention and interrogation, with no accountability for those responsible.
