PRT GHAZNI FIRST PROVINCIAL JUSTICE CONFERENCE

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