Afghanistan COI Repository

United Nations Refugee Agency, Permanent Mission of the I.R. of Afghanistan, 12 October 2022 “[…] “Human Rights Watch reports thousands of Afghans in many provinces who were associated with the former government, including former civil servants, security forces personnel and members of the judiciary, human rights defenders, women’s rights activists, high-profile women, journalists and other media workers, judges, have been killed, tortured, or disappeared.”

 

Jurist.org, Afghanistan dispatch: ‘female lawyers are at risk and there is a possibility of losing them’, 15 August 2022

“My name is [redacted], a female defense lawyer in Afghanistan, and I would like to give you a detailed explanation about the crisis of defense lawyers and the problems that have plagued women lawyers who are here. Since the Taliban took over the power of the government, all the work of female defense lawyers has become very difficult. They spend their days in their homes as alternatives to imprisonment or house arrest. My colleagues and I are facing thousands of threats. The Taliban destroy women as defenders of human rights and this is extremely horrible. Our voices are suffocated in our throats and no one in this world hears our voices. We are at home and we are changing our homes due to security threats. The life and limb of the defender is in danger.”

“The economy of female lawyers has collapsed. Poverty and deprivation are rampant. Poverty has increased to the extreme for women lawyers…Female lawyers want to study again and try to continue their education, but because that field is not favorable for them either under the Taliban they can’t even study.”

“The Taliban took over the independent bar association and that became a part of the Ministry of Justice, and now women lawyers are not allowed inside the Ministry. Only men are allowed. Women do not even have the right to

retake the exams to be lawyers. They don’t test women, and they don’t allow them to work, so female lawyers are at risk and there is a possibility of losing them.”

Byline Times, ‘They Can’t Survive Inside Afghanistan’: The Vulnerable People Still Stuck Under Taliban Rule One

Year On, 15 August 2022

“[C]ampaigners warn that, 365 days since the US and UK were forced to evacuate from the troubled country,

 

vulnerable women, religious and ethnic minorities, and LGBTIQ people – as well as those who worked with British

forces since 2001 – remain in Afghanistan and at risk of serious harm from Taliban reprisals. “There are almost no safe routes out of Afghanistan for vulnerable people,” Rosie Shaw, co-founder of the Azadi charity that assists at- risk Afghans to evacuate and resettle, said. “The Government announced last August that it would launch the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, under significant pressure and media attention, and a year on the pathway to resettlement for vulnerable people is not open and it’s not clear when it is going to open.”” “After the first year, pathway three will open to wider categories of vulnerable people to apply – such as women and LGBTIQ people. The FCDO guidance is clear that “if you are not a British Council contractor, GardaWorld contractor or Chevening alumnus, you will not be eligible for pathway three in year one”. “Right now, the Azadi charity is in contact with an all-female family – a widow and her adult daughters. Under Taliban rule, it is difficult for the women to leave their house to access even the most basic essentials. Women are expected to have a male guardian with them. “They’re a classic case of a family who would be eligible to come to the UK under the ACRS,” Rosie Shaw said. “All of them were involved in women’s rights activism, they are all well-known in their community. But, 12 months later, they

are not even in line for processing, they don’t know when they will be able to apply to come to the UK, or how they can be referred to the scheme. It’s hopeless. While there has been some attention on high-profile vulnerable women – such as former MPs, judges and lawyers – both Shaw and Zehra Zehadi, co-founder of Action for Afghanistan, are keen to emphasise that ‘ordinary’ women are also struggling. “Of course there is one category of risk,” Shaw told Byline Times. “People who are military targets, for example. But you’ve also got incredibly vulnerable, widowed women, single women, women who don’t have male family members, who can’t go outside safely. They can’t travel anywhere. They can’t get jobs, they’ve been told that they can’t go back to work. And so they have no way they can exist. They can’t survive inside Afghanistan.”

 

Al Jazeera, A year after Taliban, Afghans who chose to stay fear grim future, 12 August 2022

“Threats and even armed attacks were not uncommon in her line of work. In the year preceding the takeover, several female judges were targeted in assassination attempts in Afghanistan, resulting in the killing of Judges Qadria Yasini and Zakia Herawi.”

 

The New Humanitarian, One year on, few options for Afghans escaping hunger and Taliban persecution, 10 August 2022

“Hundreds of thousands of Afghans attempting to escape Taliban persecution and the country’s economic collapse are largely being met with closed borders, hardening attitudes, and deportation. Meanwhile, Western governments have been slow to fulfil promises to relocate tens of thousands of Afghan allies left behind in last

year’s chaotic withdrawal of foreign troops. Those most at risk of Taliban reprisal are former members of law enforcement and civil servants from the Western-backed government that disintegrated when the Taliban returned to power in Kabul on 15 August last year. Journalists, civil-society activists, women rights activists, and women who have seen their access to education and employment curtailed by the Taliban are also seeking exits from the country. So are members of minority eithnic groups, such as Hazaras, who face persecution from the Taliban and other jihadist organisations. […] Pakistan and Iran have long hosted the vast majority of people displaced over successive decades of conflict in Afghanistan. Currently, Iran hosts about 3.5 million displaced Afghans and Pakistan hosts about 3.1 million. Only about a third of Afghans in each country are registered with the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR. The rest are undocumented, due to challenges in obtaining legal status, and risk deportation. […] Hundreds of thousands of others pay still-high, but less exorbitant costs to smugglers who ferry people without documents across the border into Pakistan, according to Samuel Hall. However, the Pakistani army and paramilitary groups frequently push people back across the border, despite UNHCR advising countries not to forcibly return people to Afghanistan. Between January and July of this year, the UN’s emergency aid coordination body, OCHA, found that 46,300 Afghans were expelled or deported from Pakistan, which is 40,000 more than in

the same period in 2021. In Iran, violent pushbacks and deportations were occurring long before the Taliban returned to power. This year, however, about 462,000 people have been returned to Afghanistan – an uptick of 42,000 from last year, according to OCHA. Those who have been forcibly returned include Afghans who recently crossed the border as well as those living in Iran, sometimes for years without being able to obtain residency documents. “Under the current circumstances, nobody should deport Afghans. The risk on the ground [for many] is imminent,” said Sultani, from Amnesty International.”

 

UNOCHR, Facing critical human rights challenges, Afghanistan at a crossroads, says UN expert in Kabul, 26 May 2022

“The newly appointed Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett […] The high number of reports of intimidation, harassment, attacks, arrests, and in some cases killing or disappearance, of journalists, prosecutors, and judges for undertaking their duties, as well as of civil society for exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and association is of serious concern, Bennett said.”

 

The Guardian, Plight of Afghan judges in spotlight as court hears UK asylum challenge, 17 May 2022

“Alleged inconsistencies in the way the UK Home Office and Foreign Office process asylum applications from vulnerable judges in hiding in Afghanistan are being challenged at the high court in London on Tuesday. Three judicial reviews are being brought on behalf of a male judge and a female judge who have had their applications for asylum rejected, and a prominent female women’s rights activist. If successful, the Home Office will be required to undertake a wholesale rethink of how it handles cases. The reviews have been anonymised to protect the claimants from persecution by the Taliban. A 45-strong network of mainly commercial UK lawyers have been representing 28 Afghan judges applying for asylum. The Afghans are just a small proportion of 800 or so judges who worked in Afghanistan before the Taliban takeover last year, more than a quarter of whom are female. They say inconsistencies on the part of the UK’s approach are unreasonable, incoherent and arbitrary."

 

US DOS, 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Afghanistan, 12 April 2022

“Violent attacks by insurgents against judges, prosecutors, and prison officials made members of the judicial sector increasingly fearful in carrying out their duties. Justice-sector professionals came under threat or attack for pursuing certain cases, particularly corruption or abuse-of-power cases against politically or economically powerful individuals.”

 

OHCHR, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet visits Kabul, Afghanistan, 11 March 2022 “[...] reports suggest that door-to-door searches are continuing and we have publicly documented extrajudicial killings of former officials. Attacks against these former officials, including judges, as well as human rights defenders and journalists, do continue. [...] Civil society activists and leaders, former government employees including judges and prosecutors, and journalists can play a critical role in building a new Afghanistan, and in ensuring justice for human rights violations and abuses – but only if they can continue their work without fear of arrest, harassment, threats and violence.”

 

ACLED, Regional Overview: South Asia and Afghanistan 26th February - 4th March 2022, 10 March 2022

“[...] former judges held separate protests in Kabul demanding unpaid salaries last week. Demonstrating engineers also complain about the dismissal of large numbers of engineers since the Taliban came into power, while demonstrating former judges demand to be reinstated to their former positions. The Taliban dispersed the protest of former judges. This is the first time ACLED records a protest involving judges since August 2021.”

 

OHCHR, Interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner's report on Afghanistan, 7 March 2022

“The safety and security of all Afghan judges, prosecutors and lawyers from the previous administration, particularly women legal professionals, also continues to be a matter of acute concern.”

Jurist, Interview: Attorney Saeeq Shajjan – ‘We Need to Raise Our Voices for Afghanistan’s Embattled Lawyers’, 27 January 2022

“JURIST: And in what ways have matters regressed since the Taliban rose to power again? Shajjan: First, as part of its takeover of the Afghanistan Independent Bar Association (AIBA), the Ministry of Justice has taken control of the issuance of legal licenses. For years, we [lawyers in Afghanistan] had been working to develop a strong, independent bar. It had its weaknesses, and it wasn’t a resounding voice for all of Afghanistan’s lawyers, but it was certainly better than nothing, and AIBA was working hard to improve day by day. Now that the Ministry of Justice has taken control of licensing, I’ve heard that the oral examination has nothing to do with law. They will ask questions about prayers—how you pray, or how you prepare for prayers. These questions are completely irrelevant to the practice of law, and yet they will have to be answered satisfactorily for lawyers to renew their

licenses. I’ve also heard many accounts of courtrooms descending into chaos. There was a case where a judge seemed to be siding with parties based solely on their appearances, and another case where a judge threw a paperweight at a lawyer, hitting him square on the mouth, because the judge didn’t see any reason for him to be involved in the case. I’m trying to gather as much information as I can to record some of these abuses, but I find that people are very afraid to speak [on the record] at this point. [...]

JURIST: We know the Taliban has effectively banned women from working as prosecutors and judges, but questions remain about if and how they plan to resume the issuance of law licenses for women. Do you know anything about their plans in this regard? Shajjan: As far as I know, so far the Ministry of Justice has not issued a single law license to a woman. I know of a couple of women who tried to get their licenses renewed recently, and they were denied. They were told that the authorities were waiting for a new policy pertaining to women lawyers, but I don’t think that policy is going to come. Similarly, education has been essentially prohibited for women at this point. Again, they say they’re working on policies, but those policies are nowhere to be found, and meanwhile, months have passed. And a semester is a long time in the life of a student. [...]

JURIST: Given your efforts to help your colleagues and peers in these difficult times, what would you say to the lawyers and legal professionals who remain in Afghanistan, unable to leave, and fearful of persecution? Shajjan: Ultimately, these people need to raise their voices—but now is not the right time for them to do that. They are in hiding, and being vocal would put them in grave danger. So we need to raise our voices for them. The international community needs to ramp up pressure on the Taliban to prevent persecution. We need to work on building a solid international platform to advocate for their rights. [...]”

 

Byline Times, ‘Keep Watch Over Us’ A Plea from the Women Abandoned in Afghanistan, 26 January 2022

“Naweeda, Nadira and Noorsama are three defence lawyers. To be interviewed, they met me secretly in a place far from their homes because of the risk that neighbours could report them to the Taliban authorities for speaking to a journalist. “We are no longer allowed to work,” says Noorsama. “After the arrival of the Taliban I had to go back to court to take some documents of cases that are still open, but they prevented me. They threatened and chased me away, telling me that I was no longer allowed access. Later, they agreed that I could enter only to get the documents, but I had to wear the burqa and be accompanied by a man. I am responsible for the upkeep of a daughter and my brothers; since I was prevented from working, I had to sell the valuables I had, but even that money is almost over.”

 

The Guardian, My nightmares came true’: ex-prosecutor of Afghan women’s abusers, 17 January 2022

“I was appointed as a prosecutor to work on cases of domestic violence and abuse more than four years ago. I was promoted this summer to be chief prosecutor in this area, but my new position only lasted seven days. Friends were in my office to congratulate me on the new job when the Taliban entered Kabul.

I’ve always been under threat because my job was to investigate men who were abusing women. Those who were convicted blame me for putting them in jail, and because the Taliban released all prisoners across Afghanistan, they are now free and hunting for me to take revenge. [...]

Threat calls started on the very first night after the fall of Kabul. Criminals started calling me, saying: “Where will you go now? Your system has collapsed. We’ll find you. We’ll behead you.” And other very frightening threats. I don’t go out. I’m so depressed these days that I wish for death.”

Canadian Lawyer, International Bar Association expresses concern on Taliban takeover of Afghanistan bar association, 13 January 2022

“The International Bar Association (IBA) has urged the United Nations to denounce and intervene in the Taliban takeover of the Afghanistan Independent Bar Association (AIBA) which took place during a leadership council meeting in November 2021.

As a result of the takeover, the Taliban has gained access to the AIBA’s database that contains the personnel and professional records of 2,500 Afghan lawyers, staff, and committee members. The Taliban has also taken control of the AIBA’s bank account and funds.

“There is much concern for the personal safety of all who are on the database,” the IBA wrote. “Now that the Taliban is furnished with details of cases and home addresses, anxieties are further heightened.”

 

Gandhara, After Realizing Dream, Disabled Afghan Prosecutor Finds Herself Jobless And In Danger Under Taliban, 12 January 2022

“Prosecutors who worked for Afghanistan's ousted government have said they are being threatened by the criminals they helped convict. The Taliban emptied many of the country's jails during their takeover of the country in the summer.

“Prosecutors have had to change residences so that the convicts the Taliban freed could not find us,” said [Mosthari] Danesh. "We are now permanently living in hiding, and even our families cannot move freely." Several prosecutors, judges, and lawyers have been killed in recent months. Others have been attacked or threatened.

Western nations have evacuated and granted asylum to hundreds of judicial workers from Afghanistan. But for the thousands who remain trapped in Afghanistan, particularly women, the future is bleak.

Fatana Mohammadi, a lawyer, was attacked by an unidentified man in broad daylight in her home in Kabul last month.

“He shot at me once, but I was able to dodge the bullet by throwing a blanket over him,” Mohammadi told Radio Azadi. “After that, his gun jammed."

Mohammadi said the attacker then beat her.”

 

Jurist, Taliban proceed with plans to strip independence of Afghanistan lawyers, 3 January 2022

“Afghanistan’s Justice Ministry reiterated Monday that the country’s independent lawyers will need to re-certify under a new qualification process ser by the Ministry, signaling the intent of the Taliban authorities to plough ahead with plans to strip the country’s legal profession of its independence.

“According to the statement, the country’s lawyers will be authorized to continue practicing with their previous

licenses until the new certification process has been finalized.

“This was the latest step in a series of efforts by the new regime to crack down on the activities of the Afghanistan Independent Bar Association (AIBA), an organization established in 2008 to oversee the licensing of new lawyers, and to champion the rule of law and social justice.

“On November 14, the Taliban Cabinet decreed that the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) would gain jurisdiction over AIBA affairs. On November 23, the AIBA offices in Kabul were taken over by armed Taliban who threatened the staff and lawyers who were present with violence before ordering them to leave and installing a new president with questionable professional qualifications. “The person appointed as the new AIBA head is said to be part of the Ministry of Justice but has no relevant experience,” according to a Kabul-based JURIST correspondent. These armed forces had apparently interpreted the Cabinet decree to indicate that the MOJ should have sole authority over licensing, as well as control of the AIBA’s extensive member database and bank account.

“A group of AIBA members hoping to raise awareness of the importance of the profession’s independence organized a press conference for December 5, but their plans were halted when, as they prepared to go live, their plans were thwarted by two carloads of armed Taliban. Many have remained in hiding ever since.”

Jurist, Afghanistan dispatches: UN says ‘The safety of Afghan judges, prosecutors, and lawyers – particularly women legal professionals – is a matter for particular alarm., 15 December 2021

“The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has documented 59 apparently arbitrary detentions, beatings, and threats of civil society activists, journalists, and staff of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission attributed to the de facto authorities. Several women’s rights defenders have been

threatened, and there is widespread fear of reprisals since the violent crackdown on women’s peaceful protests in September. In some instances, relatives and family members of civil society actors, and human rights defenders have faced threats and intimidation. Many media outlets have shut down and numerous civil society groups have also closed.

The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission has been unable to operate since August, and the Afghanistan Independent Bar Association faces a loss of independence following the de facto authorities’ decision to administer its activities under the de facto ministry of justice.

The safety of Afghan judges, prosecutors, and lawyers – particularly women legal professionals – is a matter for particular alarm. Many are currently in hiding for fear of retribution, including from convicted prisoners who were freed by the de facto authorities, notably men convicted of gender-based violence.”

 

Amnesty International, Afghanistan: Survivors of gender-based violence abandoned following Taliban takeover – new research, 6 December 2021

“Essential services for women and girl survivors of gender-based violence in Afghanistan have been decimated

following the Taliban’s takeover of the country, Amnesty International said today.

In 26 new interviews, survivors and service providers told Amnesty International that the Taliban closed shelters and released detainees from prison, including many convicted of gender-based violence offences.

Many survivors – as well as shelter staff, lawyers, judges, government officials, and others involved in protective services – are now at risk of violence and death. [...]

Amnesty International interviewed survivors and individuals involved in protective services in the provinces of Badghis, Bamiyan, Daikundi, Herat, Kabul, Kunduz, Nangarhar, Paktika, Sar-e Pul, and Takhar.”

 

Jurist.org, Taliban justice ministry summons protesting lawyers after AIBA press conference dispersed, 5 December 2021

“Reliable sources in Afghanistan told JURIST Sunday that the Taliban Ministry of Justice has summoned the lawyers who organized a press conference earlier in the day to protest the recent Taliban takeover of the Afghanistan Independent Bar Association (AIBA) and the removal of lawyer licensing authority from the AIBA to the Ministry of Justice. The press conference, orchestrated by a group of young Afghan lawyers comprising both women and men, had been planned for 10 AM AFT but was called off at the last minute when heavily-armed Taliban soldiers arrived at the hotel where it was to have taken place and ordered proceedings to stop even before they had started. The lawyers, several wearing their professional robes, were briefly seen outside the hotel afterwards before they were arrested and held for a brief period.

[...] The exact whereabouts of the lawyers who organized the abortive Sunday press conference are unknown at this time. The International Bar Association (IBA) and other international bar bodies representing lawyers have vigorously protested the Taliban takeover of the AIBA. In a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres dated November 30, the IBA said that it “completely compromised the independence of the legal profession in Afghanistan” and called upon the United Nations to denounce the action as contrary to the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.”

 

Jurist.org, Afghanistan lawyers ask Taliban cabinet to restore independence of national bar association, 2 December 2021

“Lawyers from across Afghanistan have sent letters to the Taliban cabinet seeking the restoration of the Afghanistan Independent Bar Association after the Ministry of Justice took over its premises and assumed its lawyer licensing power last week. On November 23, armed Taliban fighters entered the Association’s offices in Kabul, forced objecting lawyers and staff inside to leave, and announced the installation of a new president said to

have no professional experience.”

 

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Gandhara, ‘No Reason To Stay’: Taliban Repression, Economic Collapse Accelerate Exodus From Afghanistan, 2 December 2021

“Murad, a former public prosecutor, has been living in hiding since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in August.

Over the years, the attorney helped put some of Afghanistan's most dangerous criminals behind bars, including Taliban fighters. But many of them were freed as the militant group swept the country in the summer.

Murad, who is at risk of reprisals, is desperate to flee his homeland. He has lodged multiple applications for asylum

abroad but has yet to hear back from foreign immigration authorities.”

 

The Independent, Almost 80 female judges, journalists and activists rescued from Afghanistan to Greece, 2 November 2021

“Some 79 female judges, journalists and human rights activists have been evacuated from Afghanistan to Greece after fearing for their lives while stranded in the Taliban-seized country. [...]

It comes after The Independent revealed more than 200 women judges were stranded in hiding from the Taliban in Afghanistan at the beginning of September, while campaigners warned they are at risk of being killed by the Taliban.

The Taliban has freed thousands of prisoners, including terrorists and senior al Qaeda operatives, with experts saying the judges responsible for sending many of the newly released criminals to jail are terrified for their safety now the inmates are free.

Marzia Babakarkhail, who used to work as a family court judge in Afghanistan but now lives in the UK, told The Independent: “There are currently around 100 judges still left in Afghanistan facing grave threats from the Taliban. [...]

Speaking to The Independent in a previous interview, the 55-year-old, who is campaigning for the female judges to be rescued from Afghanistan, accused the Taliban of trying to kill her in Afghanistan in 1997 and again in Pakistan in 2007.”

 

Al Jazeera, Trapped: Afghan women judges fear for their lives, 25 October 2021 [podcast]

“After trying to save Afghan women from violence and abuse, Afghan women judges are trying to escape

Afghanistan and save themselves.

Many Afghans are still trying to escape their country after the Taliban took over in August but few are as threatened as women judges. In 2009, the Elimination of Violence Against women was signed by then-President Hamid Karzai and in the years that followed, courts led by female judges opened in provinces around the country, enforcing laws protecting women from violence and abuse.

Since the Taliban opened the prisons, many of those jailed are now free and threatening the lives of the women who locked them up. Now, the chaos that followed the Western exit from Afghanistan has made it that much more difficult for the women to escape. Today on The Take, we hear their stories and the plight of the international legal community trying to get them out.”

 

BBC News, Fleeing Afghanistan: 'Women are imprisoned, while the criminals are free', 26 October 2021 “When Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, hundreds of female judges went into hiding. The Taliban had opened prisons across the country, freeing the very men the judges once incarcerated. [...]

For the past three months, Sana said, she has been hunted by the very men she sent to prison for violent crimes against women. The Taliban opened prisons as they advanced across the country, freeing thousands of criminals to take revenge on those who incarcerated them.

"I worked in a court that dealt with lots of different crimes, including murder, suicide, rape, and other complex crimes. The punishments I delivered were long and serious," Sana said.

"But after they were all released, every one of them told us: 'We will kill you if we find you.'"

A recent BBC investigation found that more than 220 female judges were living in hiding because they feared

retribution under Taliban rule. Speaking from secret locations inside Afghanistan, many of those women said they were receiving death threats on a daily basis.

In response to the accusations, secretary to the Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi told the BBC: "Female judges should live like any other family without fear. No-one should threaten them. Our special military units are obliged to investigate such complaints and act if there is a violation."

Karimi also repeated the Taliban's promise of a "general amnesty" for all former government workers across Afghanistan.

But Sana described the past few months as a "living nightmare".

"We were changing locations every two to three days, moving from the street to safehouses and hotels," she said. "We couldn't go back. Our own house had already been raided." [...]

After their evacuation, the house was commandeered by a high-ranking member of the Taliban, she said. He lives in her home, drives her car, possesses all of her belongings.

For the judges now living as a part of the diaspora, news from back home is rarely positive. In one of their many Whatsapp groups, a montage of 28 profile pictures is being shared. Every face, one judge said, was a former male prosecutor allegedly assassinated in the past 48 hours by criminals released from prison.”

 

Al Jazeera, Trapped: Afghan women judges fear for their lives, 25 October 2021

“Many Afghans are still trying to escape their country after the Taliban took over in August but few are as threatened as women judges. In 2009, the Elimination of Violence Against women was signed by then-President Hamid Karzai and in the years that followed, courts led by female judges opened in provinces around the country, enforcing laws protecting women from violence and abuse.

Since the Taliban opened the prisons, many of those jailed are now free and threatening the lives of the women who locked them up. Now, the chaos that followed the Western exit from Afghanistan has made it that much more difficult for the women to escape. Today on The Take, we hear their stories and the plight of the international legal community trying to get them out.”

 

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Gandhara, Women Judges In Afghanistan Face Threats And 'Uncertain Future'

According To Exiled Female Jurist, 13 October 2021

“Marzia Babakarkhil, an Afghan judge, spoke to RFE/RL's Radio Azadi from London about the dangers women judges face in Afghanistan. In a radio program on October 10, she talked about how the Taliban do not acknowledge women in the role of a judge and that her colleagues have faced threats and intimidation. Many have left the country or gone into hiding. Call-in programs focusing on women's rights, produced by Radio Azadi, are continuing to reach listeners in Afghanistan, despite the Taliban takeover of the country […]”

 

Tagesschau, “Diese Männer versuchen sich zu rächen”, 9 October 2021

“They pioneered women's rights in Afghanistan and were staunch defenders of the most discriminated group: women. Now almost 300 Afghan women judges have gone into hiding for fear of retaliation from the Taliban. Afghan women judges charged thousands of men with rape, murder, torture and kidnapping. Among those convicted were terrorists from the so-called Islamic State. Upon coming to power, the Taliban immediately opened the prison doors. Shortly afterwards, they received death threats, reports one of the judges, who is meeting with the ARD studio in New Delhi at a secret location and does not want her name to be published.

"When the Taliban took power in Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, they released all prisoners unconditionally. I have convicted many criminals for crimes against women and put them in prison. Now these men are trying to take revenge and track us down, "she says. "They came to my house and brought a letter from the police. They asked for court files to be handed over. They were criminals whom I had sentenced to several years in prison." The judge has been hiding since then. Her children stay with her husband. [...]

But the judge reports that she is not the only one who is terrified of death in her hiding place: "Every day judges, lawyers and lawyers are killed out of revenge. At the beginning of the week it was a judge, yesterday a lawyer." Since they came to power, the Taliban have apparently also used many of their released prisoners as security forces in their newly created units." [Translated using Google Translate and checked over by German native

speaker] ORIGINAL:

“Sie waren die Wegbereiterinnen für Frauenrechte in Afghanistan und standhafte Verteidigerinnen der am stärksten diskriminierten Gruppe: der Frauen. Jetzt sind fast 300 afghanische Richterinnen aus Angst vor Vergeltung durch die Taliban untergetaucht.

Afghanische Richterinnen klagten Tausende Männer wegen Vergewaltigung, Mord, Folter, Entführung an. Unter den Verurteilten waren auch Terroristen des sogenannten Islamischen Staates. Mit der Machtübernahme öffneten die Taliban sofort die Türen der Gefängnisse. Kurz darauf habe sie Morddrohungen erhalten, berichtet eine der Richterinnen, die sich mit dem ARD-Studio Neu-Delhi an einem geheimen Ort trifft und ihren Namen nicht veröffentlicht sehen will.

"Als die Taliban am 15. August 2021 die Macht in Afghanistan übernahmen, ließen sie alle Gefangenen ohne jegliche Auflagen frei. Ich habe viele Kriminelle wegen Verbrechen an Frauen verurteilt und sie ins Gefängnis gebracht. Jetzt versuchen sich diese Männer zu rächen und uns ausfindig zu machen", sagt sie. "Sie kamen zu mir nach Hause und brachten ein Schreiben der Polizei mit. In dem wurde die Herausgabe von Gerichtsakten verlangt. Es waren Kriminelle, die ich zu mehreren Jahren Gefängnis verurteilt hatte." Seitdem versteckt sich die Richterin. Ihre Kinder bleiben bei ihrem Mann.

[...] Die Richterin aber berichtet, wie nicht nur sie Todesangst in ihrem Versteck hat: "Jeden Tag werden Richter, Anwälte und Juristen aus Rache getötet. Anfang der Woche war es ein Richter, gestern ein Anwalt." Seit der Machtübernahme setzen die Taliban offenbar auch viele von ihnen freigelassene Gefangene als Sicherheitskräfte in ihren neu geschaffenen Einheiten ein.”

 

BBC News, Female Afghan judges hunted by the murderers they convicted, 28 September 2021 [Names have been changed for this article by the source]

“For more than three decades, Judge Sanaa investigated cases of violence against women and children. She says the majority of her cases involved convicting members of the Taliban as well as militant group Isis. "I have received more than 20 threatening phone calls from former inmates who have now been released." She is currently in hiding with more than a dozen family members.

Only once has one of her male relatives returned to their former family home. But as he was packing some clothes, the Taliban arrived at the house in several cars full of armed men, led by a commander.

"I opened the door. They asked me whether this was the judge's house," he says. "When I said I didn't know where she was, they threw me on the stairs. One of them hit me with the butt of his gun and started beating me. My nose and mouth were covered in blood."

After the armed men left, Sanaa's relative took himself to hospital.

"I told another relative we must keep changing the house where my sister is staying. There is no other way out

now. We can't escape to any other country, even Pakistan."”

 

The Times of India, Afghanistan: Former female prosecutors in hiding to escape retaliation, 22 September 2021 “Afghanistan's former female prosecutors are in hiding, fearing retaliation from those who were once jailed after their judgments and have now been released.

Many prisoners in Afghanistan have been freed by the Taliban after they took over the country last month.

The female prosecutors claim that ex-prisoners are searching for them to take revenge. One female judge said that she has been repeatedly called by unknown numbers after the Taliban took over the country, The Khaama Press News Agency reported.

Many female judges who could manage to flee from Afghanistan are now abroad, but hundreds of female judges are still hiding in the country.

The female prosecutors usually handled the cases of women's rights violation, women's torture, rapes, murder, and family harassment.

Along with other female employees in Afghanistan, female prosecutors have also been at their homes and have been told not to go to their jobs, The Khaama Press News Agency reported.”