A source close to government said on Tuesday that Zardad Faryadi was released on the back of a letter of guarantee by the Second Vice President Mohammad Sarwar Danish. 

Faryadi, a former commander for Hizb-e-Islami, arrived in Kabul last week following his deportation from the UK where he served over 10 years in prison. On arrival he was immediately taken into custody.  

However, the source told TOLOnews that the decision to release Faryadi was taken at a high level meeting which was attended by the chief justice and the attorney general among others. 

But Danish’s office has rejected these claims and said it is not aware of such a letter. 

This comes after members of the public this week accused Faryadi of having imposed illegal taxes against motorists along the Kabul-Jalalabad highway in the 1990s, among other crimes. 

Meanwhile, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has reiterated calls to the Afghan government to prosecute violators of human rights. 

“Justice must prevail on those who either now or in the past committed human rights violations which will help individuals who have some sort of claim against them (violators),” said Musa Mahmoudi, Chief Executive of AIHRC.  

However, the letter which has been seen by TOLOnews, states that Faryadi must be released on the basis of solid guarantees, but states that individuals’ rights are still in place and anyone who has claims against Faryadi must lodge complaints with government. 

The letter reads that the release of Faryadi has nothing to do with the recent peace accord with Hizb-e-Islami.

Danish’s office would not however comment on the issue. 

“Anyone who has political support and are somehow associated to a party are never handed over to justice, we call on the president of Afghanistan to show the people of Afghanistan that no one is above the law,” said senator Hashim Alokozai.

“Not only it is applicable to Zardad but to everyone; the issue of peace with Hizb-e-Islami, there is still space for individuals to file complaints freely and sue the defendant, the government has a responsibility to address the complaints,” said deputy head of Afghanistan Lawyer’s Union Abdul Subhan Misbah.

Faryadi served more than 10 years in a UK prison on charges of torture and human rights violations. Twenty years ago he controlled parts of the key Kabul-Jalalabad highway before moving to London where he changed his name.

He was spotted in London in mid-2001 after charges were brought against him and was convicted in 2005 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was released and deported back to Afghanistan last week. 

Faryadi’s second deputy Abdullah Shah was the first person to be hanged in Afghanistan in the post-Taliban transitional government led by former president Hamid Karzai. 

Abdullah Shah was executed over his involvement in the killing of his wife and a granddaughter.