VZCZCXRO3760
RR RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #5955/01 3601041
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 261041Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5071
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3470
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 005955 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA/FO, SA/A, S/CR, EUR/RPM 
NSC FOR HARRIMAN 
CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76 
REL TO NATO/AUS/NZ 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV EAID KRIM SOCI AF
SUBJECT: PRT/FARAH: THE CONFUSED STATE OF THE FARAH JUSTICE 
SYSTEM 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  Farah Province is beset by 
misunderstandings and disparities regarding the court system, 
the number of judges, and even current cases.  Record-keeping 
in handwritten notes is haphazard at best.  Judges and 
prosecutors understand there is a process that includes 
delineated time limits, but how they meet those limits and 
follow the law is unclear.  Construction of a USAID funded 
Judicial Building is nearing completion, but  the primary 
concern of prosecutors and judges seems to be the eventual 
location of office space.  Justice Ministry guidance and 
assistance to prosecutors, and Supreme Court guidance for the 
judges is clearly needed.  It is important to match the court 
system in Farah Province with that of Kabul.  Including Farah 
in the second phase of USAID,s model court roll-out would be 
an effective way to demonstrate the USG,s commitment to the 
rule of law in Farah Province.  END SUMMARY 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Farah Province court system is designed to have 
forty five Primary Court judges (including Urban Primary 
Court judges in Farah City and primary courts in each 
district) and 19 at the Appeals Court level.  It should also 
include seven Appeals Court divisions (criminal, public 
security, civil/public rights, commercial, juvenile, traffic, 
and family), though only three (criminal, public security, 
and civil/public rights, which may cover commercial issues) 
are operating.  Each division should have one chairperson, a 
chief judge, and two member judges.  Each district should 
have its own prosecutor, judge, and district (Primary) court. 
 Although the prosecutors are said to be working in the 
districts, due to security concerns, the district judges are 
not there, so defendants are brought into Farah City. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Confusion about the court system, the number of 
judges and current case load exists between Farah,s 
prosecutors and judges.  Different court officials cite 
conflicting numbers of judges and staff working in various 
divisions of the court system. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Prosecutors and judges write all records by hand. 
Many copies are made with carbon paper.  (Note:  Prevous PRT 
staff gave a computer, printer, and scanner to the court, but 
the court has no funding to buy the fuel to run the generator 
needed for electricity.  End Note.)  Records are kept 
haphazardly in piles around the offices.  Case registry books 
can be found in different offices, but the numbers in the 
books are not recorded on the files, so to locate a file one 
must look through each pile, some in drawers, some on tables, 
and others on the floor, until that file is found.  There is 
a question of what is an open case; apparently the 
classification of files differs for prisoners in jail from 
those out on bail.  Farah's prosecutors and judges vary 
widely in their understanding of the number of open cases. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) According to prosecutors and judges interviewed, 
after police make an arrest in a criminal case, they may hold 
the suspect for up to seventy two hours while they 
investigate what happened.  Police give the prosecutor,s 
office the results of their investigation and the prosecutor 
decides if there is enough evidence to take the case to 
court.  The prosecutor can also ask for additional 
information and extend the suspect,s time in custody by 
fifteen days, plus an additional fifteen days if needed.  If 
the prosecutor decides to release the suspect, the victim,s 
family may complain and force the case into court.  Most of 
the accused defend themselves. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The Primary Court must decide a case within two 
months.  Each case takes an average of two days to hear and 
the court works six days a week.  Hearings are not held on 
Sunday, Thursday or Friday.  Ghafor takes most of the Urban 
Primary Court cases and he said  he takes more than two 
months in some cases to render his decision.  After the 
initial decision, the court gives the prosecutor the records 
and documents associated with the case.  The defendant has 
twenty days to appeal judgment.  Any party to the case can 
take it to the Appeals Court; if the accused does not appeal, 
the victim,s family may do so.  If the prosecutor thinks the 
 
KABUL 00005955  002 OF 002 
 
 
defendant should not have been acquitted or the sentence 
should be longer, he may also appeal.  The final appeal is to 
the Supreme Court in Kabul.  According to urban Primary Court 
Director Abdul Ghafor, the investigations done at each level 
are merely a review of the papers from police and the courts. 
 Almost all cases are appealed. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Ghafor claimed that civil and penal codes, none 
contrary to Shari,a law, are observed.  He stated they have 
used the same court system for the past fifty years but 
lamented that no one today respects the courts and no one is 
afraid any longer to go to court.  Judges salaries are low 
and there is a dangerous lack of security.  He receives 2700 
Afghanis/month (USD 54) and sleeps near an AK-47 as his 
defense against the many threats he receives.  Ghafor 
complained he receives no help from Kabul; his office has 
only a broken desk and chair.  There has been no training, 
and no one from Kabul seems to be addressing the problem of 
the severe deficit in numbers of judges here. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) COMMENT:  As noted above, USAID is constructing a 
new Judicial Building to house the Appeals Court, possibly 
the Urban Primary Court, and prosecutors, and judges, 
offices.  As the building nears completion, however, in 
addition to their furnishings and equipment, the prosecutors 
and judges have been very focused on which department should 
get the ground floor offices and which the second floor. 
Besides the confusion between the prosecutors and judges on 
their legal system, there are inconsistencies in how police 
arrest and detain suspects, how investigations are conducted, 
how witnesses are found and brought to court, and on what 
evidence judges should base decisions.  Case investigation 
training is a necessity, though many police still lack basic 
training, and prosecutors do not have the knowledge or 
resources to investigate crimes.  Little cooperation exists 
between police and the courts in transporting criminals to 
court and on presenting witnesses.  Additionally a witness 
program is necessary.  Standard court procedures are lacking. 
 Justice Ministry guidance and assistance for working with 
the prosecutors, along with Supreme Court guidance for the 
judges, would be invaluable.  It is important to match court 
procedures and systems in Farah with those in Kabul. 
Including Farah in the second phase of USAID,s model court 
roll-out would be an effective way to demonstrate the USG,s 
commitment to the rule of law in Farah Province. 
NORLAND