News

The Taliban’s ascension to power in Afghanistan two years ago dealt two significant blows to the nation’s legal system. Firstly, they orchestrated a mass release of prisoners, most of whom were Taliban fighters convicted of severe crimes. This unexpected action placed court personnel who had been involved in their sentencing in immediate danger, making them potential targets for retaliation.

The Taliban’s severe restrictions and unlawful crackdown on women and girls’ rights should be investigated as possible crimes under international law, including the crime against humanity of gender persecution, Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists said today in a new report.

After the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan’s judicial system fell apart and many human rights institutions were dismantled. Groups like Amnesty International identified Afghanistan’s prosecutors as being a high risk group for the Taliban retribution. Many judges and prosecutors sought immediate refuge across the border in Pakistan.

A new bill introduced in the Senate seeks to bring stability to the visa program for Afghans who helped U.S. troops by nearly doubling the number of visas available and extending the program for five years. The bill, introduced Thursday by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Roger Wicker, R-Miss., would also try to reduce the backlog of visa applications with several provisions aimed at streamlining the process. "Afghanistan might not be on the front pages anymore, but the United States cannot forget about the promise we made to our Afghan allies who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Americans throughout 20 years of war," Shaheen said in a statement last week. "Our nation promised to stand by them as they stood by us. They held up their end of the deal -- the U.S. must do the same."

Women have undoubtedly borne the brunt of efforts to target and marginalize those in the legal profession. The Taliban have attempted to effectively ban all women from participating in the legal system. These de facto authorities removed more than 260 women judges – more than 10 percent of the bench – and women lawyers have been deprived of permission to practice law via a discriminatory relicensing process open only to men.

Over 152,000 Afghans who say they have worked for the U.S. military in Afghanistan prior to the Taliban's return to power in August 2021 have applied for the Special Immigration Visa (SIV) program. As of May, some 17,000 principal SIVs remained in the congressionally authorized program.