Detox Afghan-style: Pictures of drug addicts chained up at shrine for 40 DAYS in bid to cure them

Mohammed Ali, 36, and Nabiullah Safi, 23, both drug addicts, are chained to a wall during his 40-day incarceration at the Mia Ali Baba shrine in Jalalabad, Afghanistan

Chained to the wall with both arms and legs shackled tightly and just a meagre portion of bread for sustenance, you'd be forgiven for thinking that these men were incarcerated for some heinous criminal act.

But these men aren't criminals, this is actually rehab Afghanistan style.

The men pictured imprisoned in squalid conditions are there in a bid to cure mental illness, drug addiction, or are there because they are suspected of being possessed by evil spirits.It is believed that a 40-day incarceration at the Mia Ali Baba shrine in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, locked in chains and maintaining a strict diet of bread and water will rid these men of their demons.

With little access to even the most basic health care for many Afghanistans due to poverty, frustrated families are turning to places like the 300-year-old shrine in a desperate bid to cure their loved ones.But the prescription is a stark one and a far cry from the facilities that westerners suffering similar ailments benefit from.

Nabiullah Safi

With the government estimating that some 60 per cent of Afghans suffer from psychological disorders coupled with the lack of state care, it's little wonder that so many people have nowhere else to turn.

Among those imprisoned at the shrine are 36-year-old Mohammed Ali and Nabiullah Safi, 23, both drug addicts who are there to be cured.

Mohammed Sadeq, 40, says he has no idea what is wrong with him, only that he has wild mood swings.

He says that the children in his village would call him 'crazy man' and throw stones at him.'

The men are all kept in small rooms without windows and only allowed to wash their hands and faceTalking is strictly prohibited.

Shafi, 38, is another drug addict. The men are only able to wash their face and hands while at the shrine and talking is prohibited

Although the shrine is considered holy, conditions there are anything but, with the men forced to live alongside puddles of their own waste.

The only time the men can go outside, go to a proper toilet or pray is if one of the keepers deems that their health is improving.

The keepers of the shrine have been accepting the mentally ill here for some 300 years but naturally the shrines are frowned upon by health care professionals who say they are ineffective.They say that they merely prey on those suffering in abject poverty who can't afford medical treatment.

Amanullah , 20, has been prescribed a strict diet of water, bread and black pepper to cure his drug addiction

But the keepers say that they are merely upholding the tradition set by Ali Baba, the historic figure that the shrine is named after.

He is said to have looked after the mentally ill when they were shunned by all others.

One of the shrine's current guardians claims to have seen hundreds of people admitted there cured by the time they leave.

Mia Subadar said: 'This is an obligation for my family but it's also an honour.'

Culled from DAILY MAIL