Mohammad Farid Hamidi Attorney General of Afghanistan “There is no authority, power and force higher than law from now on.”

Mohammad Farid Hamidi Attorney General of Afghanistan

“There is no authority, power and force higher than law from now on.”

Mr. Hamidi made this statement in a press conference held at AGO on Sunday, May 29. The AGO central heads and deputies participated in the meeting which was conducted to introduce new AGO officials.  Mr. Hamidi reported about the changes and establishment of new mechanisms in AGO in order to enforce the law and fight corruption.

Protecting the rights and freedom of citizens is one of the duties of the AGO.  At this meeting, the Attorney General (AG) said, “AGO protects all the rights and freedom of Afghanistan’s people that are enshrined in the Afghanistan Constitution and other laws. International commitments of the Afghan government also exist in this regard.”

Changes and transformations of AGO officials were the important issues of this meeting. The AG, pointing to the changes occurred in this office within two days, said:  “The purpose of recent changes in the AGO is to build a capable office to serve for the people of Afghanistan.”

As per saying of Mr. Hamidi, from now on the people of Afghanistan will have access to AGO systematically and continuously. Every client of AGO will be treated with respect and dignity; and their opinions, suggestions, and complaints will receive a response.

The AG added, “We ask people to cooperate with us in preserving independency of the AGO staff. No institution can reach its goal without cooperation of the people. Wherever there is law breaking or our colleagues can’t use their authority, AGO officials will be in the service of the people.”

Mr. Hamidi pledged to the people that the Internal Mechanism for Inspection, Control, and Care in the AGO will be strengthened in order to monitor the performance of AGO staff all over the country, systematically and legally.

Mr. Hamidi also talked about provision of 24-hour service in the AGO. As per Mr. Hamidi’s saying, these services will be established soon in order to give access to the people from all over the country to the AGO.

Mr. Hamidi said, “AGO protects the rights and freedom of the people. In case, there is violation of these rights by any person or any authority, AGO and other Law Enforcement Organs will deal with violators with power and authority. Mr. Hamidi believes that the first steps of the commitments that the Afghanistan government has given are to fight against administrative corruption.

Mr. Hamidi also reported about the establishment of a Justice and Judicial Center for Fighting Administrative Corruption. He called this center the “Counter Administrative Corruption Machine” and said, “AGO will do its best to activate this machine as soon as possible. This center will be established for better integrity and cooperation; serious and accurate performance to fight administrative corruption.”

In his belief, all legal and political support exists for the establishment of this tool in order to fight against administrative corruption seriously and powerfully and a special court is supposed to be established.

AGO considers the Police role important in rule of law. In his belief, cooperation of police and prosecutors was not systematic in the past. Whenever a case was referred to AGO, there was no particular cooperation on detaining the accused and suspects. He added, “An agreement was signed with Ministry of Interior Affairs in this regards in the past few days. This agreement enables us to know that from now on there is no authority, power, or force above the law.”

As per sayings of Mr. Hamidi, “After this, if the presence of accused was necessary for the completion of the investigation process, they will be treated seriously. This mechanism is able to protect the rights of the innocent.”

Performance coordination of police and prosecutor was another important issue raised durng the session. In this regard, Mr. Hamidi said, “After this the accused and the suspects will be aware of their rights. They will be given sufficient and appropriate opportunities to protect their rights.”

The Attorney General believes that police and prosecutor should consider the rights and freedom of the citizens in criminal proceedings besides acting with power and authority. No punishment of the innocent and no forgiveness of the guilty.

Concerning how to have a society without crime, he pointed to the importance of media and said, “Role of mass media on ensuring justice, rule of law, counter administrative corruption and reduction of crimes won’t be hidden from anyone.  We support the rights and freedom of media.”

Mr. Hamidi also said that he wants to build a systematic relationship with media in order to fight against administrative corruption; and people assured of their rights, freedom, and future.