As if the above is not bad enough, look at the report's statements about prisons and prison conditions: "Prison conditions remained poor. Most were decrepit, severely overcrowded, unsanitary, and fell well short of international standards. The AIHRC continued to report that inadequate food and water, poor sanitation facilities, insufficient blankets, and infectious diseases were common conditions in the country's prisons. Infirmaries, where they existed, were underequipped. Contagious and mentally ill prisoners were rarely separated from other prisoners."
"The government reported 34 provincial prisons and 203 district detention centers. The government also reported 30 active rehabilitation centers for juveniles. Twenty-two provincial prisons and four district detention centers reported housing female inmates at year's end."
"Children whose mothers had been convicted of a crime often lived in prison with their mothers, particularly if they had no other family. Prisons did not separate prisoners and lacked adequate separate housing for women, accompanying children, and juveniles." Given the fact that the Pentagon also runs hellholes for detainees captured in the so-caller "war on terror" it seems somewhat ironic that the U.S. State Department would have the nerve to report on other countries' prisons. In U.S.-run prisons, torture and death are also commonplace.
Just because people are held in these prisons does not mean they are guilty of any crimes. According to the report, "The law prohibits arbitrary arrest or detention; however, both remained serious problems... Official impunity remained pervasive. Illegal border checkpoints, some reportedly manned by tribal leaders and low-level members of insurgent groups, extorted bribes. Human rights groups and detainees reported local police extorted bribes from civilians in exchange for release from prison or to avoid arrest."
Protecting women by jailing them
Before and after the invasion of the country we constantly heard Bush regime propaganda condemning the Taliban for it treatment of women. It is true that the Taliban did abuse women and its rule was especially brutal toward women. But read this from the report about the current government's attitude toward women, "Police often detained women at the request of family members for "zina," a term used broadly to refer to actions that include defying the family's wishes on the choice of a spouse, running away from home, fleeing domestic violence, eloping, or other offenses such as adultery or premarital sex. Authorities imprisoned an unknown number of women for reporting crimes perpetrated against them or to serve as substitutes for their husbands or male relatives convicted of crimes. Some women were placed in protective custody to prevent violent retaliation by family members." This last sentence must be of great comfort to women. The government imprisons them to "protect" them instead of dealing with those who threaten the women.
Legal rights are illusions
The new Afghan constitution and penal code gives certain legal rights to those arrested, but the report makes clear that these rights are often only illusions. According to the report, "Authorities did not respect limits on length of pretrial detention, and lengthy pretrial detention remained a problem in part because the legal system was unable to guarantee a speedy trial...The Interim Criminal Procedure Code sets limits on pretrial detention. In many cases courts did not meet these deadlines. NGOs continued to report that prison authorities detained individuals for several months without charging them. There were credible reports during the year that police in Kabul continued to detain prisoners after they were found innocent." [But this should not bother the U.S. government as prisoners at GITMO have also been held after they were found to be innocent.]
"The law provides for an independent judiciary, but in practice the judiciary was often underfunded, understaffed, and subject to political influence and pervasive corruption. Pressure from public officials, tribal leaders, families of accused persons, and individuals associated with the insurgency, as well as bribery and corruption, threatened judicial impartiality."In much of Afghanistan there is no real formal legal system.
According to the report, "Due to the undeveloped formal legal system, in rural areas local elders and shuras were the primary means of settling both criminal matters and civil disputes; they also allegedly levied unsanctioned punishments. Some estimates suggested 80 percent of all cases went through shuras, which did not adhere to the constitutional rights of citizens and often violated the rights of women and minorities."
Often tribal leaders totally ignore the courts and run their own private prisons. The State department states, "There were reports that a number of tribal leaders, sometimes affiliated with the government, held prisoners and detainees. There were no reliable estimates of the numbers involved." What happens to these prisoners was not discussed in the report.
Where courts do operate the trial procedures are often arbitrary and inadequate. The report stated, "Trial procedures rarely met internationally accepted standards. The administration and implementation of justice varied in different areas of the country. Under the law all citizens are entitled to a presumption of innocence. In practice the courts reportedly convicted defendants after sessions that lasted only a few minutes. Defendants have the right to be present and to appeal; however, these rights were not always applied. Trials were usually public, and juries were not used. Defendants also have the right to consult with an advocate or counsel at public expense when resources allowed. This right was inconsistently applied. Defendants frequently were not allowed to confront or question witnesses. Citizens were often unaware of their constitutional rights. Defendants and attorneys were entitled to examine the documents related to their case and the physical evidence before trial; however, NGOs noted that in practice court documents often were not available for review before cases went to trial."
Women and girls used as property
For women the legal system is often a nightmare and young girls are treated as property. Reading the report confirms this, "In cases lacking a clearly defined legal statute, or cases in which judges, prosecutors, or elders were simply unaware of the law, courts and informal shuras enforced customary law; this practice often resulted in outcomes that discriminated against women. This included the practice of ordering the defendant to provide compensation in the form of a young girl to be married to a man whose family the defendant had wronged." Women and girls often pay for other family members' wrongs. "There were reports that officials arrested and sentenced individuals, often women, for crimes other family members committed," according to the report.
Freedom of the press and free speech?
Freedom of the press and speech are often violated by the government. In one case, even a member of parliament was punished. The report details this, "In 2007 the parliament voted to suspend MP Malalai Joya for the remainder of her term for comments she had made criticizing her fellow MPs during a televised interview. She remained suspended at year's end."
"The government reported 34 provincial prisons and 203 district detention centers. The government also reported 30 active rehabilitation centers for juveniles. Twenty-two provincial prisons and four district detention centers reported housing female inmates at year's end."
"Children whose mothers had been convicted of a crime often lived in prison with their mothers, particularly if they had no other family. Prisons did not separate prisoners and lacked adequate separate housing for women, accompanying children, and juveniles." Given the fact that the Pentagon also runs hellholes for detainees captured in the so-caller "war on terror" it seems somewhat ironic that the U.S. State Department would have the nerve to report on other countries' prisons. In U.S.-run prisons, torture and death are also commonplace.
Just because people are held in these prisons does not mean they are guilty of any crimes. According to the report, "The law prohibits arbitrary arrest or detention; however, both remained serious problems... Official impunity remained pervasive. Illegal border checkpoints, some reportedly manned by tribal leaders and low-level members of insurgent groups, extorted bribes. Human rights groups and detainees reported local police extorted bribes from civilians in exchange for release from prison or to avoid arrest."
Before and after the invasion of the country we constantly heard Bush regime propaganda condemning the Taliban for it treatment of women. It is true that the Taliban did abuse women and its rule was especially brutal toward women. But read this from the report about the current government's attitude toward women, "Police often detained women at the request of family members for "zina," a term used broadly to refer to actions that include defying the family's wishes on the choice of a spouse, running away from home, fleeing domestic violence, eloping, or other offenses such as adultery or premarital sex. Authorities imprisoned an unknown number of women for reporting crimes perpetrated against them or to serve as substitutes for their husbands or male relatives convicted of crimes. Some women were placed in protective custody to prevent violent retaliation by family members." This last sentence must be of great comfort to women. The government imprisons them to "protect" them instead of dealing with those who threaten the women.
Legal rights are illusions
The new Afghan constitution and penal code gives certain legal rights to those arrested, but the report makes clear that these rights are often only illusions. According to the report, "Authorities did not respect limits on length of pretrial detention, and lengthy pretrial detention remained a problem in part because the legal system was unable to guarantee a speedy trial...The Interim Criminal Procedure Code sets limits on pretrial detention. In many cases courts did not meet these deadlines. NGOs continued to report that prison authorities detained individuals for several months without charging them. There were credible reports during the year that police in Kabul continued to detain prisoners after they were found innocent." [But this should not bother the U.S. government as prisoners at GITMO have also been held after they were found to be innocent.]
"The law provides for an independent judiciary, but in practice the judiciary was often underfunded, understaffed, and subject to political influence and pervasive corruption. Pressure from public officials, tribal leaders, families of accused persons, and individuals associated with the insurgency, as well as bribery and corruption, threatened judicial impartiality."In much of Afghanistan there is no real formal legal system.
According to the report, "Due to the undeveloped formal legal system, in rural areas local elders and shuras were the primary means of settling both criminal matters and civil disputes; they also allegedly levied unsanctioned punishments. Some estimates suggested 80 percent of all cases went through shuras, which did not adhere to the constitutional rights of citizens and often violated the rights of women and minorities."
Often tribal leaders totally ignore the courts and run their own private prisons. The State department states, "There were reports that a number of tribal leaders, sometimes affiliated with the government, held prisoners and detainees. There were no reliable estimates of the numbers involved." What happens to these prisoners was not discussed in the report.
Where courts do operate the trial procedures are often arbitrary and inadequate. The report stated, "Trial procedures rarely met internationally accepted standards. The administration and implementation of justice varied in different areas of the country. Under the law all citizens are entitled to a presumption of innocence. In practice the courts reportedly convicted defendants after sessions that lasted only a few minutes. Defendants have the right to be present and to appeal; however, these rights were not always applied. Trials were usually public, and juries were not used. Defendants also have the right to consult with an advocate or counsel at public expense when resources allowed. This right was inconsistently applied. Defendants frequently were not allowed to confront or question witnesses. Citizens were often unaware of their constitutional rights. Defendants and attorneys were entitled to examine the documents related to their case and the physical evidence before trial; however, NGOs noted that in practice court documents often were not available for review before cases went to trial."
Women and girls used as property
For women the legal system is often a nightmare and young girls are treated as property. Reading the report confirms this, "In cases lacking a clearly defined legal statute, or cases in which judges, prosecutors, or elders were simply unaware of the law, courts and informal shuras enforced customary law; this practice often resulted in outcomes that discriminated against women. This included the practice of ordering the defendant to provide compensation in the form of a young girl to be married to a man whose family the defendant had wronged." Women and girls often pay for other family members' wrongs. "There were reports that officials arrested and sentenced individuals, often women, for crimes other family members committed," according to the report.
Freedom of the press and free speech?
Freedom of the press and speech are often violated by the government. In one case, even a member of parliament was punished. The report details this, "In 2007 the parliament voted to suspend MP Malalai Joya for the remainder of her term for comments she had made criticizing her fellow MPs during a televised interview. She remained suspended at year's end."
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