The Taliban's Ministry of Justice reacted to Afghanistan International’s exclusive report about the establishment of a private prison by Abdul Hakim Sharei, the group’s Minister of Justice.
The ministry stated that Sharei, by the order of the Taliban leader, has the authority to "detain" land usurpers for 10 days.
Earlier, sources told Afghanistan International that the Taliban's Minister of Justice had built a private prison inside the ministry building.
Family members of Haydar Jan Naimzoy, a former member of the Afghan parliament, stated that he has been imprisoned in the Taliban's Ministry of Justice.
In a statement, the Taliban's Ministry of Justice stated on Thursday that "there is no private prison in the Ministry of Justice”. However, the ministry did not explain where Abdul Hakim Sharei detains the accused land usurpers and under what conditions.
The statement mentioned that the Minister of Justice has been appointed by the decree of Mullah Hibatullah, the leader of the Taliban, to head the commission for addressing land usurpation. According to the statement, he has the authority to decide on the detention of land usurpers who continue to confiscate lands, for up to 10 days.
Following takeover of power in Afghanistan, the Taliban abolished the constitution of the previous government and declared some of its regulations invalid. Legal experts say that the Taliban is now operating based on their own preferences.
According to the law, the police and the prosecutor's office have the right to arrest individuals, and judicial and legal institutions handle the cases of the accused.
The Ministry of Justice did not explicitly mention Naimzoy. However, it indirectly stated that the decision to detain one of the "rebels" was made by the commission for the prevention of land usurpation, and he was officially handed over for detention to Kabul province.
The Taliban's Ministry of Justice detained Naimzoy, on Monday, March 11 and has been held in the private prison of the Minister of Justice until the publication of the report on March 12
According to information received by Afghanistan International, before Naimzoy, Mahmoud Karzai, the brother of former President Hamid Karzai; Mullah Tarakhel, a former member of parliament; Mir Afghan Safi, another former member of parliament, and Bahram Khan Zadran, the head of the money exchangers union, were also detained in the Taliban's Minister of Justice's private prison on charges of land grabbing.