The Afghanistan Government has signed an agreement with NATO for taking over control of the Bagram prison near Kabul. The defence ministry termed the agreement as an important step towards the extension of Afghan national sovereignty. A statement said the defence ministry will begin to train a unit which will take responsibility for the prison but the date for the handover has still to be agreed upon. The detention centre has some 650 prisoners and human rights campaigners criticise the facility saying it fails to comply with international norms. Some inmates are victims of arbitrary detention, having no recourse to justice or knowledge of the charges against them. The Afghan Government has long-sought to have prisoners transferred from foreign military control saying that Afghans should not be held by foreign powers within their own territory. Militant organisations use the alleged excesses at the detention centre as a propaganda tool for attracting people to their ranks.<br/>