US halts aid to Afghan prison
Mar 16, 2012, 8:01 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration is suspending U.S. assistance to an Afghan prison to protest body cavity searches being performed on female visitors to the facility.
A State Department official said Friday that until what he called the “utterly unacceptable practice” has stopped, the Pol-i-Charki prison in Kabul would no longer receive U.S. equipment and material support. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly.
According to the New York Times, which first reported the aid suspension, the United States has spent about $14.2 million on improvements at the prison since June 2009,
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)