Taliban Leader Increases Detention Period for Suspects to 10 Days

Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban administration, has issued a new decree extending the detention period for suspects by the police and intelligence agencies of the Taliban to ten days and has prohibited releasing detainees before a court verdict.

According to this decree, no individual can be released without a court order once arrested, and all suspects must undergo judicial review in the Taliban courts. Previously, in the absence of sufficient evidence, the police could release detainees, and prosecutors had the authority to release individuals with or without bail within a specified period.

The new decree also restricts arrest authority exclusively to the security and intelligence agencies of the Taliban administration, increasing the initial detention period from 72 hours to ten days. The text of the decree states that detention for “investigative purposes” is only permissible within this framework and must not exceed ten days.

At the same time, the Taliban Ministry of Justice’s website indicates that the former government’s criminal law has been completely repealed; this law had allowed prosecutors to order the immediate release of suspects in non-essential cases. The removal of this legal framework effectively narrows the legal avenues for suspect release.

Another section of the decree bans torture during detention but grants the courts of the Taliban administration the authority over “punishment and penalties.” This provision has raised serious concerns, as the decree does not explicitly offer any practical safeguards to prevent violent behavior after cases are referred to the courts.

Ghulam Farooq Aleem, a former prosecutor, views this decree as a step toward increasing pressure and violating suspects’ rights. He states that such a decision paves the way for extended detentions, forced confessions, and abuse of power by the police and intelligence agencies of the Taliban.

Meanwhile, over the past four years, the United Nations has repeatedly described Taliban detentions as arbitrary, especially concerning women and girls in various provinces. With this new decree, concerns have grown that the time individuals spend in such detention will lengthen and that legal proceedings will become more complex.