VZCZCXRO5909
PP RUEHDBU RUEHPW RUEHSL
DE RUEHBUL #1745 1851230
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 041230Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9941
RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC
INFO RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RUEAWJA/DOJ WASHDC
RHEHOND/DIR ONDCP WASHDC
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/CJCS WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS KABUL 001745 
 
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR KCRM PREL PINS AF
SUBJECT: AFGHANISTAN/COUNTERNARCOTICS: PARDON AND RELEASE OF DRUG 
TRAFFICKERS 
 
¶1.  (SBU) We recently learned that, on April 30, 2009, President 
Karzai had issued a decree pardoning five Border Police officers who 
were convicted in 2007 of transporting approximately 124 kilograms 
of heroin in a Border Police truck.  These five officers (Amrullah, 
Bilal Ahmad, Shahzad Gul, Said Babrak, and Shah Malang), were under 
the command of Haji Zahir, a Border Police commander from Badakshan 
Province.  Although Zahir was interviewed at length by Afghan 
officials and U.S. DOJ, he was never prosecuted because none of the 
five officers agreed to cooperate against him.  However, from the 
time the five officers were arrested, numerous members of parliament 
and other influential individuals pressed for their release. 
 
¶2. (SBU) All five defendants were sentenced to between 16 and 18 
years in prison.  President Karzai pardoned them and ordered their 
release after they had served only 14 months in jail.  Following 
their conviction in Primary Court, the defendants had been sent to 
Pul-i-Charkhi Prison.  They were later transferred to a prison in 
Jalalabad.  This transfer required the concurrence of the Minister 
of Justice.  The five defendants are related to Haji Din Mohammed, 
Kabul Provincial Governor, who is a native of Jalalabad.  According 
to Ministry of Justice records, when released, the five defendants 
were turned over to Haji Din Mohammed.  The decree of pardon is 
predicated upon the purported "martyrdom" of two brothers of Haji 
Din Mohammed (Haji Kadir, a former minister), and Haji Abdul Haq (a 
former mujahed), in separate incidents. 
 
¶3. (SBU)  A highly-placed source in the Attorney General's Office 
states that the impetus for the Presidential Pardon was a letter 
from Attorney General Aloko advocating on behalf of the five 
convicted individuals.  The source states that the President would 
not have signed the letter without the concurrence of AG Aloko. 
Aloko is the former head of the Aloko Commission, which was charged 
with the responsibility for reviewing the status of prisoners 
released from BAF and discharged to the ANDF. 
 
¶4. (SBU)  On May 28, at a press conference at the Afghan Government 
Media and Information Center following the signing of a US-Aghan MOU 
extending US support for the Governor-Led Initiative against poppy 
cultivation, a journalist asked about reports that President Karzai 
had released convicted narcotics traffickers.  Deputy Ambassador 
Ricciardone responded: 
"The government of Afghanistan has scored some notable successes in 
arresting and prosecuting successfully and in sentencing some 
narco-traffickers.  One thing that worries us however is when 
traffickers are sentenced and then released, as we hear sometimes 
has been the case.  When that happens, it undermines General 
Khudaidad and all that he is trying to do.  It undermines the 
Ministry of Interior; it undermines the state itself, so when we see 
that happening, we find it very discouraging and upsetting and we 
think it probably upsets the people of Afghanistan as well." 
 
 
 
EIKENBERRY