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France asks Afghans not to free Taliban convicted of killing French citizens

Sunday, 16 August 2020 2:27 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 16 August 2020 2:30 AM ]

In this handout photograph taken on August 13, 2020 and released by Afghanistan's National Security Council (NSC), Taliban prisoners gather as they are in the process of being released from Pul-e-Charkhi prison on the outskirts of Kabul. (Photo by AFP)

France has asked the Afghan government not to include Taliban fighters convicted of killing French citizens in a prisoner release deal, the foreign ministry said on Saturday.

The Afghan government has agreed to release 400 “hard-core” prisoners as part of moves towards peace talks with the Taliban militants, and an official said on Friday that 80 of these convicts had been freed so far.

“France is particularly concerned by the presence, among the individuals liable to be released, of several terrorists convicted of killing French citizens in Afghanistan,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

In this photo taken on August 13, 2020, Shahnaz, 40, sits next to a picture of her husband Faiz Ali Ahmadi, 45, who died in a truck bomb attack in Kabul on May 31, 2017, after an interview with AFP in a house in Kabul. The decision to release hundreds of the Taliban's most dangerous prisoners has stirred painful memories for the loved ones of those killed in Afghanistan's war, with many questioning whether the move will help bring peace.

“It firmly opposes the liberation of individuals convicted of crimes against French nationals, in particular soldiers and humanitarian workers,” it said.

“As a result, we have immediately asked the Afghan authorities not to proceed with the release of these terrorists.”

Disagreement over the release of the prisoners, who include individuals accused in connection with some of Afghanistan’s bloodiest attacks, has already delayed peace negotiations for months as the United States withdraws troops under a deal signed with the Taliban in February.

(Source: Reuters)

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