This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 005234 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INL/FO AND SA/FO AMB QUINN 
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN/KAMEND 
USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG 
TREASURY FOR APARAMESWARAN 
 
E.O. 12958 N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL KCRM EAID KDEM AF
SUBJECT: PRT GHAZNI FIRST PROVINCIAL JUSTICE CONFERENCE 
IDENTIFIES AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT 
 
REF:  KABUL 004415 
 
¶1. SUMMARY:  Afghan justice officials, including representatives 
of the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior, Supreme Court, 
and Attorney General?s office, attended a conference with 
provincial justice officials December 14-15 in Ghazni Province. 
The conference was hosted by the provincial government and 
facilitated by CFC-A, the State Department?s Justice Sector 
Support Program (JSSP), USAID and PRT Ghazni.  About forty people 
attended the conference; well over 50 percent were Afghan 
officials, who engaged in lively dialogue about the needs of the 
justice system and how to adhere more closely to judicial and 
legal standards.  Participants agreed the conference was 
successful in accomplishing its main purposes:  to open lines of 
communications between key justice officials at the central and 
provincial levels, and to identify some changes that will improve 
compliance with the law in Ghazni.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. At the first session on December 14, Afghan central government 
officials introduced their agendas.  Representatives of the four 
justice institutions at the conference (police, prosecutors, 
courts and prisons) agreed that noncompliance with the statutory 
prisoner detainee time periods was a problem.  They agreed to 
form a committee to coordinate justice issues ? including 
reviewing the status of prisoners who may be held longer than the 
statutes allows (72 hours for police investigation, 15 days for 
the prosecutor to make a case, etc.) 
 
¶3. After a lunch hosted by the Ghazni governor, the group toured 
judicial sites in Ghazni, in the order in which a prisoner?s case 
would make its way through the system.  Visitors commented on the 
overall high standard of facilities in Ghazni, including a new 
judicial center and a renovated and expanded courthouse (both 
USAID-funded projects), and new construction at the police 
station.  (Predictably, Ghazni justice officials pointed out 
several shortcomings in the new facilities.)  Judicial officials 
were generally aware of current laws and judicial procedures, 
although they are not always in compliance.  For example, 
prisoners arrested in remote districts are often kept more than 
72 hours in police custody because of lack of transportation, 
etc.  At the prison, located in a crumbling fort several 
kilometers outside of Ghazni, officials kept good records on each 
prisoner.  Conditions for prisoners were generally adequate, 
except for a lack of heat.  The prison currently has five female 
inmates, and one woman's six-month-old baby. 
 
¶4. On December 15, the conference attendees took part in four 
breakout sessions addressing courts, prosecutors, police, and 
prisons.  During these sessions, central government and 
provincial justice officials discussed current barriers to 
effectively implementing the law.  Each group identified goals 
for improvements to be accomplished within the next 60 days.  In 
two months, the central government officials plan to visit Ghazni 
again to review whether those goals have been met.  Perhaps the 
most important outcome of these meetings was to further cement 
the consensus to establish a justice committee which will meet at 
least monthly, but possibly weekly, to identify areas of 
improvement and review prisoners? cases to make sure they are not 
being held past deadlines. 
 
ACTIONS FOR NEXT SIXTY DAYS 
=========================== 
 
¶5. Problems identified by the breakout groups are as follows. 
Afghan officials hope to see progress on resolving these problems 
when they re-visit Ghazni in 60 days. 
 
PRISONS: 
 
-- Currently, the monitoring prosecutor (responsible for 
monitoring the condition of prisoners, where they are in the 
system, and how long they have been held) is not able to visit 
the prison several kilometers outside Ghazni regularly due to 
lack of transportation.  The provincial government would like to 
help by supplying transportation. 
 
-- Political prisoners (often detained by NDS but deposited at 
the provincial prison) are currently not accounted for properly. 
Political prisoners are sometimes held without any documentation, 
and may have no fixed term of detention.  Prison officials will 
try to bring documentation and detention of political prisoners 
in line with regulations.  Deputy Minister of Justice Hashimzai 
was adamant about including these prisoners in planned 
monitoring. 
 
-- Most prisoners do not know how long they have been held, how 
much of their sentence remains, or (in the case of suspects who 
have not been convicted) where their cases are in the system. 
Prison officials will try to communicate this information more 
clearly to prisoners. 
-- Prison conditions are generally good, but lack of heat is a 
major problem.  Prison officials will attempt to improve 
insulation and install stoves in the cellblock. 
 
-- When a prisoner has completed the statutory detention period 
(either pre-trial or post-conviction), the prison sends a letter 
to the prosecutor; the prison has no authority to release a 
prisoner without an order from the prosecutor.  Prison officials 
complained the prosecutor often does not respond ? leaving the 
prisoner in custody indefinitely.  Prison officials say they have 
no authority to communicate the problem to the court. 
 
PROSECUTORS: 
 
-- The prosecutors? group was most concerned about the Interim 
Criminal Procedure Code (ICPC), several provisions of which they 
strongly disliked.  They were particularly concerned about 
elements of the code that imposed unrealistic time periods for 
investigation and prosecution.  They pointed out that for 
suspects detained in remote districts, just traveling back and 
forth to Ghazni to transport the prisoner or complete the proper 
paperwork can eat up much of the allotted time.  The Ghazni 
judicial committee plans to ask Governor Sher Alam to help them 
lobby the MOJ for changes in this code.  The group agreed to work 
systematically to identify genuine problems with the ICPC and 
recommend changes.  The Chief Judge reminded the group that until 
the ICPC was changed, it was the law and everyone had to comply 
with it.  (Note:  It is unlikely anything will change on this 
issue within 60 days). 
 
-- The prosecutors said the courts do not follow Article 45 of 
the ICPC, which calls for a three-judge panel.  Sometimes, they 
said, one judge takes a file home and issues a decision based 
solely on his own review. 
 
-- The prosecutors acknowledged problems with the provisions of 
the code relating to the rights of the accused.  For example, the 
government is required to provide a defense attorney for the 
accused, but there is no budget for this. 
 
POLICE: 
 
-- Working with the DynCorp mentors who have been assigned to PRT 
Ghazni, the police plan to hold professional development seminars 
in Ghazni within the next 60 days.  USAID suggested after the 
meeting that it would be helpful to involve the judges in police 
training; they are in the best position to explain to recruits 
what it takes to make a good case, and to explain how the police 
fit into the criminal justice system and why certain procedures 
(particularly involving arrestees? rights) are necessary. 
 
-- The police requested that PRT or CFC-A assist them by 
providing more help with transportation and communications. 
 
-- Police identified the lack of qualified personnel as a 
problem, saying it was difficult to recruit when salaries were so 
low.  The pay reform program under discussion at the MoI should 
help address this problem. 
 
-- Police also said they need more medical support.  It was not 
clear whether they meant for the health of police personnel, or 
to assist with forensic investigations.  LTC McNeely of CFC-A 
said she would talk to the medical officer in the police reform 
directorate to see how he could assist. 
 
-- MOI wants to be notified about outcomes of cases.  Currently, 
they have no way of knowing whether their arrests and 
investigations lead to successful prosecutions. 
 
COURTS: 
 
-- The primary issue identified by the courts group was the 
problem of prisoners being detained beyond the statutory time 
period. The court does not have any supervisory authority over 
this matter. 
 
-- The division of duties and roles between judge and prosecutor 
for the supervision of cases is unclear and needs to be resolved. 
 
-- Judges expressed considerable concern over the conflict of 
interest involved in having a monitoring prosecutor check on the 
prosecutor?s compliance with the law.  One participant pointed 
out that a new Law on Prosecutors being drafted might correct 
this problem. 
 
-- The general lack of defense attorneys was noted as a real 
problem; the constitutional right to an attorney (provided free 
of charge to indigents) is illusory when no defense attorneys are 
available. In the meantime, public education, information 
provided to persons in custody, and facilitation of pro se 
petitions would help. 
 
-- Under Article 3, Law of Defense Counsel, suspects can 
designate defense counsel on a simple form rather than the 
complex Shari'a contract formerly required.  This was news to all 
the institutions?and to USG participants.  Heretofore, the hiring 
of an attorney was conceptualized as a contractual relationship 
requiring a Shari?a contract, necessitating two witnesses.  This 
has generally been viewed as a serious impediment to use of 
defense counsel.  The suspect?s right to a defense attorney and 
the existence of this form should be publicized, and there should 
be plenty of forms available. 
 
¶6. COMMENT:  This conference was the first of its type in 
Afghanistan.  The eagerness of the Afghan participants, both from 
Ghazni and from the central government, demonstrates that this 
type of program is needed elsewhere and could be successfully 
exported to other provinces.  Deputy Minister of Justice and 
Afghan lead Dr. Hashimzai stated that the conference obtained 
over 20 minutes of airtime on Afghan television on 14 December. 
The agreed-to ways ahead (including the provincial justice 
committee) are viable and practical, and promise an improvement 
in both the delivery of justice and its perception in the 
community at little cost.  The follow-on visits by the central 
government officials will motivate and focus the provincial 
officials, while the central government gains valuable insight 
into what is going on outside Kabul.  END COMMENT. 
NEUMANN