A police investigation into an Afghan refugee has turned up lists with the names of up to 5,000 Afghan citizens who were tortured and killed by the Communist regime in the late 1970s, the NRC reports on Wednesday.

Amanullah Osman, who died last year, was denied political asylum for his role in the killings but was not deported because his life was in danger in his home land.

As the head of the interrogation department of the Afghan security service AGSA, Osman signed 27 known transport orders for political adversaries of the regime who were later executed.

The death lists have now been published on the public prosecutors’ website warcrimes.nl. They will also be sent to the Red Cross.

‘This information is extremely important for the families of the victims who for decades have lived in uncertainty about the fate of their family members and friends,’ the paper quotes public prosecutor Thijs Berger as saying.