The Sarposa prison is a high security prison in Kandahar

Kandahar

Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...

, Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

, used to hold Taliban militants and other criminals including drug traffickers. 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.

Use by the Taliban

According to American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 intelligence analysts the Taliban used the prison as a "political prison".
Guantanamo captive Abd Al Rahim Abdul Raza Janko described being held in the prison following his torture by the Taliban.

Post-Taliban use

The record shows that the prison continued to be used in the post-Taliban era for detention and interrogation.

Guantanamo captive Sultan Sari Sayel Al Anazi

Sultan Sari Sayel Al Anazi

Sultan Sari Sayel Al Anazi is a citizen of Saudi Arabia who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.American intelligence analysts estimate that Al Anazi was born in 1974, in Sakaka, Saudi Arabia....

 faced the allegation that when he was held in the prison, prior to being sent to Guantanamo:
A number of the captives were later transported to extrajudicial detention

Extrajudicial detention

Arbitrary or extrajudicial detention is the detention of individuals by a state, without ever laying formal charges against them.Although it has a long history of legitimate use in wartime , detention without charge, sometimes in secret, has been one of the hallmarks of totalitarian states...

 in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, and finally to the Parwan Detention Facility

Bagram Theater Internment Facility

The Parwan Detention Facility , also called the Bagram Theater Internment Facility, is a United States-run prison located next to Bagram Airfield in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan.It was formerly known as the Bagram Collection Point...

 next to Bagram Air Base

Bagram Air Base

Bagram Airfield, also referred to as Bagram Air Base, is a militarized airport and housing complex that is located next to the ancient city of Bagram, southeast of Charikar in Parwan province of Afghanistan. The base is run by a US Army division headed by a major general. A large part of the base,...

 in Afghanistan.

Captives reported to have been in held in American custody in Kandahar

Abdul Bin Mohammed Bin Abess Ourgy Abdul Bin Mohammed Bin Abess Ourgy Abdul Bin Mohammed Bin Abess Ourgy is a citizen of Tunisia, currently held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.The Department of Defense reports that Ourgy was born on July 25, 1965, in Tunis, Tunisia....	Testified he was held in Kabul, Kandahar and Bagram before he was transferred to Guantanamo.
Abdul Hai Mutmaen	Former assistant to Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil was the last Foreign Minister in the Taliban government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.Prior to this he served as spokesman and secretary to Mullah Mohammed Omar, leader of the Taliban. After the Northern Alliance accompanied by U.S... , the last Taliban Foreign Minister. Fazal Mohammad Fazal Mohammad Mullah Fazal Mohammad is a citizen of Afghanistan and formerly a Taliban militia commander who was captured on November 25, 2001.According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, he was the Taliban militia's "commander in Afghanistan's southern region along the Pakistan border" in 2001...  reported he had seen Muttawakil, and his former assistants Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil and Khirullah Khairkhwa being abused when they were both held in Kandahar in 2002.
Fazal Mohammad Fazal Mohammad Mullah Fazal Mohammad is a citizen of Afghanistan and formerly a Taliban militia commander who was captured on November 25, 2001.According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, he was the Taliban militia's "commander in Afghanistan's southern region along the Pakistan border" in 2001...	An alleged former Taliban commander, asserted that the authorities in Kandahar fed the captives starvation rations; did not treat their wounds; subjected them to beatings, sexual humiliation, and attacks by vicious dogs.
Khirullah Said Wali Khairkhwa Khirullah Said Wali Khairkhwa Khirullah Said Wali Khairkhwa is a Taliban official and former governor of Herat, he is currently held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba....	Khirullah Khairkhwa was the Taliban's Governor of Herat Province Herat Province Herat is one the 34 provinces of Afghanistan; together with Badghis, Farah, and Ghor provinces, it makes up the South-western region of the country...  in 2000 and early 2001. Fazal Mohammad Fazal Mohammad Mullah Fazal Mohammad is a citizen of Afghanistan and formerly a Taliban militia commander who was captured on November 25, 2001.According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, he was the Taliban militia's "commander in Afghanistan's southern region along the Pakistan border" in 2001...  reported he had seen Khirullah Khairkhwa being abused when they were both held in Kandahar in 2002. Khirullah Khairkhwa was transferred to Guantanamo.
Murat Kurnaz Murat Kurnaz On March 3, 2006, in response to a court order from Jed Rakoff the Department of Defense published a Summarized transcripts from his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.The tribunal that examined the case against Kurnaz lasted for forty minutes....	A German Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...  resident, has testified before the German parliament that his American captors allowed German special forces to beat and threaten him in Kandahar. Eventually transferred to Guantanamo.
Sayed Nabi Siddiqui Sayed Nabi Siddiqui Sayed Nabi Siddiqui is an Afghan police officer who alleges that in August 2003 he was stripped naked by U.S.-led coalition forces, and beaten and photographed at the U.S. base in Gardez. Siddiqui also alleged he was subjected to sexual abuse, taunting and sleep deprivation. On May 12, 2004, the U.S...	Afghan police officer who claims he was abused during 40 days he spent in US custody in 2004. Sayed Nabi Siddiqui reports being held in Gardez, Kandahar, Bagram Bagram Bagram , founded as Alexandria on the Caucasus and known in medieval times as Kapisa, is a small town and seat in Bagram District in Parwan Province of Afghanistan, about 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul. It is the site of an ancient city located at the junction of the Ghorband and Panjshir...
Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil was the last Foreign Minister in the Taliban government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.Prior to this he served as spokesman and secretary to Mullah Mohammed Omar, leader of the Taliban. After the Northern Alliance accompanied by U.S...	Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil was the last Taliban Foreign Minister. Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil sent the USA prior warning of the upcoming attacks on September 11, 2001. Defected from the Taliban in October 2001, prior to his capture. Fazal Mohammad Fazal Mohammad Mullah Fazal Mohammad is a citizen of Afghanistan and formerly a Taliban militia commander who was captured on November 25, 2001.According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, he was the Taliban militia's "commander in Afghanistan's southern region along the Pakistan border" in 2001...  reported he had seen Muttawakil being abused when they were both held in Kandahar in 2002.

Prison attack of 2008

In May 2008, 200 prisoners went on hunger strike protesting detention without charge for up to two years. Many others faced summary trials they felt were unfair. Forty-seven inmates physically stitched their mouths shut. The strike ended when the Afghan parliament agreed to review their detentions.

On June 13, 2008, the Taliban orchestrated the escape of 1,200 prisoners, including 350 Taliban by having two suicide bombers in a tanker truck blow up the main gates. Subsequently, 30 men arrived on motorrcyles, killed 15 guards, and broke the locks on every cell.

Following the prison breakout, the prison was rebuilt with major fortifications.

Tunneling escape of 2011

On April 24, 2011, a 350m tunnel that had been dug across a highway and under the prison walls, was used in the escape of about 500 Taliban inmates. The escape has been compared to the Stalag Luft III

Stalag Luft III

Stalag Luft III was a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war camp during World War II that housed captured air force servicemen. It was in the German Province of Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan , southeast of Berlin...

tunnel escape in world war 2. The breakout was not detected for four hours, during which most of the prisoners
were transported away. Although the government claimed to have re-arrested several dozen
escapees, Taliban reports claim this to be untrue.