VZCZCXRO4694
RR RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #5973/01 3611321
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 271321Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5094
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFIUU/COMSOCCENT MACDILL AFB FL
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3485

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 KABUL 005973 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, S/CR, SCA/PAB, EUR/RPM STATE 
PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG 
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN 
OSD FOR KIMMITT 
CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76, AND POLAD 
RELEASABLE TO NATO/AUST/NZ/ISAF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM AF
SUBJECT: PRT BAMYAN - GOVERNMENT TAKES FIRST STEP TOWARD 
ENHANCING JUSTICE 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  The Bamyan Provincial Justice Conference 
(PJC), held in the provincial capital November 20-21, brought 
together Afghan leaders and experts to find the means to 
improve justice in Bamyan.  Stakeholders discussed their 
concerns in break-out sessions on police, prosecutors, judges 
and corrections officials, while defense, human rights and 
public awareness stake-holders joined the various groups to 
ensure these issues were addressed as well.  Provincial 
participants discussed their concerns with their central 
government counterparts and outlined a litany of needs 
(particularly increased salaries, legal training and office 
resources, such as vehicles).  The PRT as well as the U.S. 
Embassy,s Justice Sector Support Program (JSSP) will be 
conducting follow-up with the Afghan leadership and potential 
international donors to ensure progress is made on the action 
items.  END SUMMARY 
 
The Participants 
---------------- 
 
¶2. (U)  Governor Habiba Sarabi hosted Bamyan,s Provincial 
Justice Conference on November 20-21 after weeks of 
preparation by provincial officials.  The approximately 120 
provincial officials at the conference included district 
judges, civil and military prosecutors, district 
sub-governors, police, mullahs, the Department of Hajj and 
the Department of Women's Affairs.  The INL-funded Justice 
Sector Support Program (JSSP) and PRT POLOFF were 
instrumental in organizing the event and recruiting the 
30-plus subject matter experts (AIHCR, UNAMA, NRC and Embassy 
officials/contractors) as well as central government 
officials.  Participants from Kabul included officials from 
the Supreme Court, the Attorney General,s office, and the 
Ministries of Interior and Justice.  The New Zealand 
government, INL/JSSP and CFC-A provided the necessary 
logistics and funding support for this event. 
 
Governor Sarabi,s Comments 
-------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) Governor Habiba Sarabi, the first and only female 
Governor in Afghanistan, welcomed participants and 
international support for rule of law.  In her opening 
remarks she pressed for help from the visiting groups to 
improve Bamyan,s justice system.  She pointed to the judges 
earning $50.00 a month and not being able to feed their 
families while paying court expenses out of their own pocket, 
the brain drain of competent law professionals indigenous to 
Bamyan because of lack of professional opportunities, and the 
lack of public awareness and knowledge of the law. 
 
¶4.  (U) Following the Governor, all five of the Afghan 
national leaders made opening remarks and endorsed the need 
for rule of law assistance to Bamyan province.  To stress the 
important role justice plays in the life of every Afghan 
citizen, Deputy Attorney General Samadi quoted the Prophet 
Mohammed as saying one hour of justice is better than 100 
years of worship. 
 
The Sessions: Police, Prosecutors, Judges, and Corrections 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) Following the opening comments, the conference 
participants split into four break-out session groups -- 
police, prosecutors, judges and corrections officers.  Each 
group discussed their sector,s challenges, identified 
potential solutions and sought commitments from the national 
leaders.  On the second day of the conference, each breakout 
session summarized points, which are reported below. 
 
Police Concerns 
--------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) The police breakout session involved approximately 
 
KABUL 00005973  002 OF 005 
 
 
thirty participants, including police chiefs and line 
officers, four of whom were female.  A frank discussion 
revealed needs and priorities including training of police 
officers on provisions of the Penal Code, the Civil Code and 
the Interim Criminal Procedure Code (ICPC).  Of particular 
note was the consistent mention of the need for training on 
how to be professional officers, with an emphasis on 
forensics, criminology and interrogation.  Their major 
concern, however, was the 72 hour limit the ICPC puts on 
their investigation before they are required to turn a case 
over to the prosecutor.  Resource requests by the police 
group included uniforms, coats, and traffic signs, in 
addition to the expected report of the shortages of vehicles, 
fuel, buildings, and forensic equipment. 
 
Potential Solutions for Police Concerns 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) Legal training on relevant laws for police would 
address many of the concerns raised by the police 
participants.  Ideally, comprehensive legal training for 
police would be incorporated into the curriculum of the 
Regional Training Center (RTC).  As an interim measure, a 
legal training course could be implemented along with 
additional training courses for other sections of the Bamyan 
justice sector as early as the spring of 2007.  Weather 
conditions in this mountainous province, however, make it 
unlikely for any coordinated training effort to take place 
before the spring thaw. 
 
¶8.  (U) Although Police Chief Sayeed Ackbar flagged the need 
for winter clothing, it is not clear that the central 
government or an aid agency can move quickly enough to 
provide uniforms or overcoats before spring.  This sector 
also raised transportation issues.  An assessment of police 
transportation is needed to verify whether there is a need 
for additional police transport over the distances in the 
province, and whether such a need could be filled by 
strategic placement of motor vehicle depots.  Esprit de corps 
could be enhanced with the funding of a Police Association 
and the delivery of professional forensic equipment, perhaps 
on a depot basis similar to the vehicles.  This would have a 
short-term morale benefit and a long-term benefit of creating 
a more professional police force. 
 
Judicial Concerns: Time Constraints, Attorneys, Resources 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) Echoing police concerns, the judges also cited the 
time restrictions imposed by the ICPC as the primary obstacle 
to the performance of judicial functions.  The judges felt 
the 15 day limit to file an indictment, followed by a pro 
forma 15 day extension was simply not enough time to 
adequately investigate anything more than a routine case. 
There was also a frank admission by the judges that because 
the ICPC is, by definition, an &interim8 law, it need not 
be adhered to.  It was felt that a temporary law carries less 
weight than a &permanent8 law and that the adoption of a 
new criminal procedure code with more realistic time 
limitations would be very helpful. 
 
¶10.  (U) Bamyan has no defense attorneys, and the judges 
expressed deep concern that innocent persons were being 
convicted because no attorney was available to challenge the 
evidence presented by the prosecution.  Any invocation of the 
right to counsel by a defendant is impossible to satisfy in 
Bamyan.  The unfortunate result is that the cases of those 
defendants who invoke their constitutional right are set 
aside until they agree to waive the request for an attorney. 
 
¶11. (SBU) The judicial break-out session also revealed basic 
resource concerns.  Judges complained that there were not 
enough copies of the law available for them (Note: Copies of 
the relevant laws affecting criminal justice were distributed 
 
KABUL 00005973  003 OF 005 
 
 
to judges at the conclusion of the conference).  They also 
expressed concern that cases dragged on too long, that there 
was a tremendous backlog of appeals and that there were 
simply not enough judges to do the work.  Judges are assigned 
multiple districts to cover, but are not provided 
transportation to get to them.  The lack of AWD vehicles 
results in significant trial delays.  This in turn, forces 
people to rely on informal justice systems.  As with the 
other sectors, there was a complaint of poor salaries, which 
allow corruption to seep into decision making.  Several 
judges also expressed concern for their safety as they 
traveled to court. 
 
Donors Needed to Address Judicial Concerns 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶12.  (U) The JSSP will work to identify donors for case 
management improvement, indigent defense services and 
transportation assets.  Bamyan officials specifically 
requested assistance with a case management system and 
training on the law, ethics and human rights. 
 
Prosecution: Three Categories of Need 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶13.  (U) The concerns and needs expressed by the Bamiyan 
prosecutors were divided into three categories: training, 
strained relations with the police and central government 
resource issues. 
 
Prosecutor Training 
------------------- 
 
¶14.  (SBU) The prosecutors expressed interest in taking a 
training course in investigation, criminal techniques and 
crime scenes, forensics, and other topics either in the 
province or in Kabul.  They would like to be taught by 
internationals or by experienced prosecutors such as Deputy 
Attorney General Samedi from Kabul, who was in attendance. 
The prosecutors do not think they need training in criminal 
procedure or penal law. 
 
Strained Relations with the Police 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶15.  (U) The prosecutors raised several concerns about their 
relationship with the police.  One problem raised is that the 
police hold suspects long after the 72 hours, sometimes up to 
two weeks.  According to the prosecutors, even when the 
police are told to turn over the suspect and files, they do 
not.  The prosecutors believe that sometimes the suspects are 
kept by the police to solicit a bribe, and sometimes they are 
kept so that the police can finish their investigations.  DAG 
Samedi stated that the &military8 unit prosecutors (that 
can prosecute the police) should be notified and if possible 
they should arrest the police officers.  One prosecutor 
stated that this would result in threats or worse ) one 
cannot challenge the police in this way.  They also stated 
that the police will not follow the instructions of the 
prosecutors.  Jointly issued orders from the MOI and AGO to 
their respective police and prosecutors could help with these 
issues, as could training. 
 
Prosecutor Request Resources and Infrastructure 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶16.  (U) The prosecutors were specific about their 
infrastructure needs during the breakout sessions and stated 
that five vehicles were needed, including two for the 
appellate court prosecutors, and that there should be six 
motorcycles supplied as well.  None of the district 
prosecutors have vehicles.  Additional infrastructure 
deficiencies included buildings, a library, furniture, and 
communications.  There is one provincial prosecutor,s office 
 
KABUL 00005973  004 OF 005 
 
 
building with three rooms for eight prosecutors.  According 
to the civil prosecutor, 30 rooms are needed, because 
currently there is no space for the 23 prosecutors who are 
authorized.  The prosecutors also pressed for district 
buildings. (Note: USAID has constructed and recently opened 
government buildings in most of Bamyan,s districts.  The new 
offices are specifically for district officials.  Bamyan 
center is an exception, however, due to unresolved issues 
with provincial officials regarding site location.  End 
Note). 
 
¶17.  (U) The Provincial Prosecutor,s Office did not hesitate 
to request everything but the kitchen sink and went on to 
request a library, a conference room, 30 desks and 40 chairs, 
200 square meters of carpets, a safe, 30 file cabinets and 
curtains as well as three generators for the Provincial 
Offices and one for each of the six other Districts.  This 
will require at least 600 liters of fuel per month.  In order 
to communicate with Kabul, the prosecutors also requested 
nine radios as well as mobile phones for Bamyan center. 
(Note: Bamyan districts do not have Roshan coverage, and have 
requested digital phones.) 
 
Salary, Training and other Benefits 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶18.  (SBU) According to the Civil Prosecutor, the main reason 
that only 20 of the 43 authorized positions for prosecutors 
are not filled is the low salary.  The average 
line-prosecutor,s monthly salary is 2700-3000 Afghanis 
($54-$60), and quite a few have quit.  The Chief Civil 
Prosecutor believes that his prosecutors should receive 
10,000-15,000 Afghanis ($200-300) per month. 
 
¶19.  (U) One line prosecutor emphasized the need for female 
prosecutors, as there are none currently, especially for 
cases of rape and family violence involving women as victims. 
 Victims will often not want to come forward to male 
prosecutors in such cases.  When asked why there are no 
female prosecutors, one participant said, &if we cannot get 
male prosecutors to come to Bamyan with such salaries, how 
can we get any female prosecutors that are qualified?8 
 
¶20.  (SBU) The prosecutors also spoke about personal security 
and indicated that they would like to be issued pistols. 
They have been threatened and attacked - one prosecutor was 
beaten with a stick by a suspect.  Another one was slapped 
and beaten by the Deputy Governor.  When the facilitator 
raised the question of safety, the response was &we have 
been at war -- we know how to use firearms.8  When it was 
noted that an AK-47 is significantly different than a pistol, 
the prosecutors all stated they would be willing to take a 
gun safety training course. 
 
Possible Means of Addressing Some of the Prosecutors, Needs 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶21.  (U) Training on coordination between prosecutors and 
police would be of immense value due to the fundamental 
disconnect between these two justice sectors.  The 
prosecutors, long list of resource and infrastructure needs 
is perhaps most appropriately addressed by the central 
government, but international donors may be able to assist 
with some of these issues.  Communication equipment and 
vehicles would make an immediate impact on the efficacy of 
the Bamyan prosecutor,s office. 
 
Corrections Issues 
------------------ 
 
¶22.  (U) The main concern raised during the corrections 
discussion was the difficulty of following the laws 
concerning pre-trial detention and the failure of either the 
courts or the prosecutors to properly communicate, by way of 
 
KABUL 00005973  005 OF 005 
 
 
judicial or prosecutorial decree, when a prisoner should be 
released.  Prisoners are held indefinitely without any order 
from the Court.  The corrections officials felt that it was 
the duty of the prosecutors to write release orders for 
persons held beyond the thirty day limit for filing 
indictments, but they noted that they rarely, if ever, 
receive one.  As a result, the prison is overcrowded and 
filled with people who should not be there.  Corrections 
officials also explained that there are no female corrections 
officers and that none of the corrections officers in Bamyan 
had received formal training. 
 
Addressing the Needs of Corrections Officials 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶23.  (U) As none of the current corrections officers have 
received any training in inmate management, human rights or 
corrections law, the Corrections System Support Program 
(CSSP) will work to identify a donor for this training. 
Coordination between corrections, the courts and prosecutors 
needs to be enhanced -- either through training or through 
the development of protocols for informing corrections 
officials of when inmates must be released.  Identifying a 
female candidate for corrections training and placement in 
the Bamyan prison is critical due to inability of male 
corrections officers to humanely perform their duties in 
accordance with cultural norms. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶24. (SBU) Although the central government officials who 
addressed the conference promised follow up on many of the 
items requested by the local justice officials, there is a 
clear need for the international community to make 
significant contributions to the justice sector in Bamyan. 
Simple items such as winter coats, communication equipment, 
motorcycles and training would make a tremendous impact on 
the services these offices provide to their constituents. 
Training Bamyan justice sector officials and employees will 
help build the capacity of the justice system and can be 
implemented as early as the spring of 2007, once there is 
safe and reliable travel to and from Bamyan.  Informing 
Bamyan officials of plans to furnish some of the material and 
training requests identified during the conference will go a 
long way to boost their morale.  As Governor Sarabi pointed 
out in her closing comments, failure to deliver on the 
promises made by the national leaders at the conference will 
result in further disillusionment with the central 
government.  To help address these weaknesses, PRT 
appreciates the assistance of JSSP, CSSP and CFC-A as we work 
together over the next few months to provide a welcome 
capacity boost to the few judicial officials in the province. 
NORLAND