Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09KABUL1745
2009-07-04 12:30:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Kabul
Cable title:
AFGHANISTAN/COUNTERNARCOTICS: PARDON AND RELEASE OF DRUG
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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
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
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