The Afghan judge is already safe in Europe after fleeing Kabul and can rest assured that she is no longer in danger of retaliation from the men she once condemned.
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However, many of her colleagues have not been so lucky and are calling for help because they are afraid for their lives. The danger for them is both the government of the radical Taliban and the convicts who were released after the Taliban offensive and the emptying of prisons, Reuters reported.
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“Four or five members of the Taliban came and questioned the neighbors in my house where the judge lived. These were the people I sent to prison, “an Afghan judge who took refuge in the Netherlands told Reuters. For her safety, she didn’t want to name her name.
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About 250 judges worked in Afghanistan before the Taliban came to power. Some have managed to flee the country in recent weeks, but most have remained in place and are trying to cross borders with the help of colleagues abroad and activists seeking help.
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The Taliban, which came to power after the withdrawal of international forces, did not allow women to hold most professions 20 years ago during its previous government. A spokesman for the movement after the conquest of Kabul in mid-August promised that women’s rights would be protected in accordance with Islamic law and that they would be able to work.
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But women in the judiciary were the target of violence before the Taliban. In January this year, unknown gunmen shot dead two Supreme Court judges. At the time, the Taliban claimed it had nothing to do with the killings. Now the Taliban have released prisoners across the country, which, according to the judge, threatens her colleagues to lose their lives.
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“They send me messages full of fear and utter terror. They tell me that if they don’t save them, their lives will be in immediate danger, “a woman who managed to escape from Afghanistan with the help of human rights defenders and foreign colleagues from the International Association of Judges (IAWJ) told Reuters. According to her, the released prisoners “call the judges, prosecutors and police officers and threaten them with death, telling them that they will follow them.”
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British Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said last week that London had evacuated nine Afghan judges. “These judges have enforced the rule of law and are quite rightly concerned about the consequences for them of the rise of the Taliban,” he said.
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Many representatives of human rights organizations and activists argue that Western countries did not have the rescue of women from justice as a priority in evacuations. “Governments had zero interest in evacuating people who were not their citizens,” said Sarah Kay of the Atlas International Lawyers’ Association.
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Six IAWJ judges also sought to help colleagues in Afghanistan through information, lobbying governments and evacuation organizations. “The responsibility that lies with us is almost unbearable at the moment, because we are one of the few who fights for this group,” says US Judge Patricia Whalen. “It simply came to my notice then. None of us should be in such a situation, “he adds.
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