Al Jazeera News :
France has objected to the release of three men jailed for the murders of French nationals in Afghanistan as part of Kabul’s decision to release 400 Taliban prisoners as the last phase of fulfilling a condition set out in a deal between the Taliban and the US government.
The group of prisoners, whose release has begun, include two men who murdered Bettina Goislard, an employee of the UN refugee agency, in November 2003, and a former Afghan soldier who killed five French soldiers and injured 13 others in Kapisa province eight years ago.
“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 on Sunday.
The Afghan government and the Taliban are set to meet to launch an intra-Afghan peace process within days of the prisoner release being completed, a move that has drawn widespread condemnation after it emerged that many of the inmates were involved in attacks that killed tens of Afghans and foreigners.
“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.”
Goislard’s family has also strongly denounced the move.
The release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners in return for 1,000 captive Afghan security personnel was agreed in a landmark deal between the US and the Taliban in February as a condition for intra-Afghan peace talks.
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.
