Afghan court tries, convicts 2 men

AFGHANISTAN

08.13.2010

Courtesy Story

ISAF Joint Command

KABUL, Afghanistan (Aug. 13) - Two Afghan men who are currently detained at the Detention Facility in Parwan were sentenced to serve time in an Afghan prison after an Afghan court found them guilty of crimes under Afghan law during trials held Tuesday at the Justice Center in Parwan.

In the first case, the defendant was tried based on forensic evidence collected after the defendant's fingerprint was identified as a match to a latent print found on a component of an improvised explosive device.

An Afghan Ministry of Interior fingerprints and ballistic examiner testified he had reviewed the report describing the fingerprints found on the IED component and was familiar with the procedures contained in the report. He confirmed that even though the IED was found in 2006, fingerprint evidence can persist for years. The examiner confirmed with 100-percent certainty that the fingerprints found on the IED were matched to the defendant.

The defense argued that explosives were often used for fishing, or that it was possible the defendant touched tape and put his fingerprint on it and that it could have been placed around the IED by one of his enemies.

Following the hearing, the panel of Afghan judges found the defendant guilty of subversive activities, and sentenced the man to five years in prison.

In the second trial, the prosecution presented evidence against a defendant who was found with multiple weapons and ammunition. The prosecution alleged that he was a Taliban commander and matched descriptions from Afghan law enforcement officials familiar with the defendant's terrorist activities.

The defendant claimed the weapons were not his, but said he did own a hunting rifle, a pistol, and an AK-47. The defendant indicated that his family had the weapons for hunting and for self-defense against the Kuchi tribes.

The panel of judges ruled the defendant was in violation of Article 9 of the Law of Firearms, Ammunitions and Explosive Materials law for possessing weapons that were not registered and violation of Article 19 of the Anti-Terrorism Law for his affiliation with the Taliban.
The defendant was sentenced to four years in prison for the first charge and 18 months for the second charge. Both sentences run concurrently under Afghan law.

Both men have 20 days to make an appeal under Afghan law.

While detainees are currently held at the detention Facility in Parwan under the Law of Armed Conflict, the government of Afghanistan investigates and prosecutes criminal cases at the Justice Center in Parwan and considers criminal charges under the Afghan Penal Code.

The cases were presented by Afghan prosecutors and the accused were all given the opportunity to be represented by Afghan defense attorneys. A panel of three Afghan judges presided over the cases.

• Date Taken: 08.13.2010
• Date Posted: 08.13.2010 04:56
• Story ID: 54511
• Location: AF