Kandahar Central Jail

Kandahar Central Jail

Location	Kandahar, Afghanistan
Coordinates	31°37′08″N 65°40′05″E / 31.61889°N 65.66806°E / 31.61889; 65.66806
Status	Operational
Security class	Minimum
Capacity	1,900[1]
Managed by	Ministry of Interior Affairs
Warden	Sayed Akhtar Mohammad Agha Hussaini[2][3]

Kandahar Central Jail,^[4] also known as Sarpuza Prison, is a minimum-security prison in Kandahar, Afghanistan. It is located next to the Kandahar-Herat Highway in the Sarpuza neighborhood, which is between the neighborhoods of Mirwais Mena and Shahr-e Naw, in the western part of the city. Its current warden is Sayed Akhtar Mohammad Agha Hussaini.^[2][3]

The Kandahar Central Jail has been historically used for the incarceration of common criminals of Kandahar Province,^[5] some of whom turn out to be innocent and released.^[6] In the last two decades, the facility has also been used to house Taliban and other insurgents. In 2017, the prison had approximately 1,900 inmates.^[1]

The prison has been subject to two major escapes, first in a coordinated attack in May 2008, and latter in a tunneling escape in April 2011. There has been discussions on relocating Kandahar Central Jail to the neighboring Daman District, which is to the southeast of Kandahar District.^[7] Over 1,000 prisoners were released from the prison by Taliban forces in August 2021, after they gained control of the city as part of the 2021 Taliban offensive.^[8]