Afghan Biographies

Sarpoza Provincial Prison Kandahar


Name Sarpoza Provincial Prison Kandahar
Ethnic backgr.
Date of birth
Function/Grade Background
History and Biodata

Taliban has broken into the Kandahar central jail and released hundreds of incarcerated prisoners. Afghan media outlets quoted Taliban spokesperson Qari Yousaf Ahmadi to confirm that the group had managed to "conquer" the Kandahar central jail on Wednesday August 11, 2021.



Background Sarposa Prison Kandahar:
Ministry of Interior managed Kandahar Central Jail, Sarpuza Prison, Sarposa Prison, is a minimum security prison in Kandahar. It has been historically used for the incarceration of common criminals of Kandahar Province. It was reovated 1970. In the last two decades, the facility has also been used to hold up Taliban and other insurgents. The name "Sarpuza" is a historical neighborhood in the city of Kandahar. As of 2017, the prison has approximately 1,900 inmates.
 

The prison has been subject to two major escapes, first in a coordinated attack in May 2008, and more recently in a tunneling escape that occurred in April 2011. The Afghan government is in the process of relocating Kandahar Central Jail to the Daman, which is located outside the city limits to the south.

Giving a boost to healthcare facilities for detainees, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has upgraded the clinic of Sarpoza Provincial Prison in Kandahar.  As part of the project, which was taken up in 2019, the ICRC changed the water supply system at the clinic, added five medical consultation rooms, a separate waiting area for female patients and streamlined the management and distribution of medicines.
 

The ICRC also built and equipped a 12-bedded medical isolation ward, also fitting it with a hybrid solar power system in 2017. In view of COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the globe, a medical screening station was set up at the main entrance of the prison to screen all visitors as a preventive measure against the spreading of infection within the prison.
 

The station is manned by a team comprising a doctor, three nurses and a health educator who were recently appointed by the Director of Public Health with the financial and technical support of the ICRC.(20210209)

Last Modified 2021-08-11
Established 2021-02-09