At least 200 prosecutors who served under Afghanistan’s former government have been dismissed over the past month as Taliban authorities accelerate efforts to remove them from their posts, at least six current and former prosecutors told Amu TV.
The prosecutors, including several who have worked at the Taliban-run General Directorate for Supervision and Prosecution of Decrees and Orders, said people affiliated with the Taliban have been appointed to replace those dismissed.
They said the dismissals have accelerated in recent weeks and claimed the process was initiated in Kabul and the provinces following a verbal order from Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.
After returning to power in August 2021, Taliban authorities transformed Afghanistan’s former Attorney General’s Office into the General Directorate for Supervision and Prosecution of Decrees and Orders.
One prosecutor told Amu TV that between 50 and 60 prosecutors were being removed from their positions each week and replaced by new appointees.
“About 700 prosecutors from the republic era had remained,” the prosecutor said. “These people are being dismissed first. After that, those who have described themselves as members of the emirate will be removed, and then employees will be dismissed in another phase.”
Another former prosecutor who worked at the Taliban-run directorate questioned the qualifications of some of the replacements.
He claimed that Taliban members appointed to the positions had completed six-month religious studies programs that were treated as equivalent to master’s-level qualifications but lacked the professional knowledge and experience required for prosecutorial work.
“No one here has studied at the doctoral level,” he said. “They are appointing only people who have completed six-month courses that they call master’s programs.”
He also questioned the appointees’ knowledge of Hadith and other religious studies and said they lacked the ability and experience required for the work.
Another prosecutor told Amu TV that discussions about removing the remaining prosecutors had been underway for some time.
“One day, I was at the office when, without any official written notice, my name and the names of several other prosecutors were announced, and we were told that we should not return to work beginning the following month,” he said. “In addition, they did not pay us one month’s salary.”
Farooq Aleem, a former prosecutor, told Amu TV that Taliban authorities had changed what he described as the fundamental nature of the former Attorney General’s Office.
“More than 700 prosecutors who had worked for years, had experience in this field and were impartial were dismissed,” Aleem said.
He said Taliban authorities had also removed experienced judges who served under the former government and dismantled professional structures associated with the previous judicial system.
The General Directorate for Supervision and Prosecution of Decrees and Orders, which replaced the former Attorney General’s Office, is responsible for monitoring detentions and places of deprivation of liberty, as well as the implementation of decrees and orders issued by the Taliban leader.
Taliban authorities did not respond to Amu TV’s requests for comment on the reported dismissals, the alleged order from Akhundzada or the qualifications and selection process for those appointed as replacements.
The post Exclusive: Taliban authorities dismiss at least 200 prosecutors in one month appeared first on Amu TV.