A Dutch court on Thursday sentenced an elderly Afghan man to 12 years in prison for war crimes committed while in charge of a notorious Kabul jail in the 1980s. 

Abdul Razzaq Rafief "treated the prisoners cruelly and dishonourably and arbitrarily deprived them of their liberty," judge Els Kole told The Hague regional court, adding "these are war crimes".

Rafief, 76, played a leading role in the abuse of prisoners at the Pul-e-Charkhi jail between 1983-88 "where he had effective command and control", the judge said.

Thousands of prisoners were tortured and some executed, Kole said.

Rafief "was involved in the violence. He gave orders and knew what was happening in the prison and did nothing to stop his subordinates" from abusing inmates, the judge said. 

The trial in The Hague is one of the latest in a series of efforts by Europeans to bring people to account for crimes in conflict-torn nations, including Syria and Afghanistan.

Dutch authorities started investigating in 2012 after blogs said the former commander of Pul-e-Charkhi was  living in the Netherlands, where he was arrested in 2019.