Mohammad Qais Fasehi, the Deputy head of the Administrative Department for Prisons and Detention Houses told the Senate on Monday that conditions in Afghan prisons was dire and help was needed in their numerous problems.
Fasehi was called to the Senate on Monday to meet with the Senate Complaints Commission and discuss the state of the prison system.
"In the detention center that has the capacity of 100 prisoners, we keep 300 detainees," Fasehi admitted to the Commission on Monday. "No one constructs prisons for us...our detention centers currently reside in rent houses; for instance, a Zabul detention center has been established in a meteorological building while a Balkh detention center is in the traffic department building," he added.
The officials also spoke about President Hamid Karzai's rehabilitation and release initiative. The ranking Senator on the Commission was critical of the way things had gone so far.
"Commands aren't implemented transparently, the order is implemented for those who have everything they need, he is released from the jail, while those who have nothing - money or power - are kept in jail for months," Senator Gul Ahmad Azami said.
Fasehi said that lack of coordination between government offices and the prisons was the main reason behind the issue.
"Today, I was there and caught an intelligence service officer red headed when he was moving hashish inside the prison," Fasehi recounted. "If I see someone who receives bribe, I will catch him, and a commission should be considered for each cell in order to prevent illegality and improprieties."
Meanwhile, the Senate Commission agreed that corruption was the major barrier to positive change in the Afghan prison system.
Fasehi reported that the commanders of jails in Farah, Herat, Badakhshan and Jawozjan provinces were all fired from their positions in connection to corruption.