At one point, Kabul Central Prison was filled with thousands of Taliban who had been captured and detained by the government. On Monday, a Taliban leader walked into his empty hall, showing his friends where he had already been arrested.
This was a sign of an emergency and shocking order in Afghanistan when the group stormed the capital about a month ago and threw down a corrupt, US-backed government that had been operating for 20 years.
The Taliban now run the Pul-e-Charkhi Prison, a small area east of Kabul. After capturing the city, the freedom fighters released all the prisoners there, government guards fled, and now many Taliban insurgents are patrolling the area.
The director, who declined to be named, was on a tour of the area with a group of friends. He was also arrested about 10 years ago in the eastern province of Kunar and taken to Pul-e-Charkhi, where he was arrested and handcuffed.
“I feel pain when I remember those days,” he said.
He also said that prisoners were being tortured and tortured. He was arrested about 14 months before his release. “Those days are the hardest days of my life, and this is a time of great joy for me that I am free and coming here without fear.”
Many Afghans and governments around the world have feared the immediate overthrow of the Taliban, fearing that the group will impose a more equitable, more stringent law as they first commanded in the 1990s.
But for Taliban fighters, it is a moment to feel the victory after years of fighting a tiring battle – and to see a few of them enter the city since the war began.
Pul-e-Charkhi had a long, turbulent history of violence, mass killings and torture. Large tombs and torture cells were discovered from Soviet-backed governments in the late 1970s and 1980s.
Under a US-backed government, it is well known for its complexity and population density – 11 of its cells were built to house 5,000 inmates, but were often packed with more than 10,000, including Taliban inmates and terrorists.
Taliban inmates often complain of torture and beatings, and there are frequent riots. However, they kept their organization back, gaining access to phones and long hours outside their cells.
Some of the Taliban who now control the area were former prisoners. Government guards have fled and are reluctant to return, fearing reprisals.