Activities and Achievements of the Attorney General’s Office of Afghanistan in 2017
Activities and Achievements of the Attorney General’s Office of Afghanistan in 2017
On March 13, 2017, a press conference on the activities and achievements of the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), Ministry of Justice, Counter Corruption Administration, Supreme Audit Office, and Ministry of Mines and Petroleum of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan briefed press representatives in the government media center.
The AGO Spokesperson, Jamshed Rasouli, talked about achievements and performance of the institution and said, “The AGO carries out all its tasks, responsibilities, and obligations based on article 34 of the constitution, with full independence yet maintaining impartiality, respect for human dignity, observance of human rights, and with firmness and decisiveness.”
According to Mr. Rasouli, actions taken towards recruitment or human resources to fight against corruption, creation of Justice and Judicial Center for Fighting Heavy Corruption Crimes, and creation of Special Prosecution Office of Crimes against Administrative Corruption incorporated with Heavy Crimes Police are among the fundamental achievements of AGO.
Mr. Rasouli noted that in 2016, AGO addressed and investigated 34,285 cases in accordance with provisions of the constitution.
AGO completed 12,811 cases and referred them to the courts after preparing the charges sheet based on evidence and required reports from the environment. The Appellate Courts provided verdicts on 9,492 cases, and 11,204 cases contained enough documents and evidence for finalization after proceeding. AGO saved 1,314 cases due to insufficient reasons, and 25,777 cases are under investigation. AGO judicially settled 42,638 cases in 2016. The figure includes 34,284 cases of 2016 and the rest come under 2015 cases.
The AGO Spokesperson added that the aforementioned cases included 270,039 civil cases, 3,457 cases related to Military Prosecution, 3,374 cases related to Prosecution Office of Crimes against Internal and External Security, 940 cases related to Elimination of Violence Against Women, 450 cases related to Prosecution Office on Counter Narcotics, and 1,474 cases related to Prosecution Office on Fighting Corruption.
From these cases, funds deposited into the government account totaled AFN 47,560,835, USD 10,726,794, PKR 2,829,284, INR 10,000, IRR 503, 500, and SAR 1,400.
In addition, AGO prosecution officials detected and seized 96 vehicles, two (2) motorcycles, 232 mobile phones 558 different types of weapons, 603 different types of ammunition rounds, and 14 knives.
In 2016, AGO narcotics related cases resulted in Counter Narcotics Prosecution Office detecting and seizing 60,003 kilograms of heroin, 90,558 kilograms of opium, 17,715 kilograms of hashish, and 29,315 grams of chemical substances, as well as alcoholic beverages. The people accused of these cases are under prosecution of AGO.
Mr. Rasouli said, “Since its establishment, the Justice and Judicial Center has investigated 67 cases, which include heavy crimes of corruption.”
After investigation and evaluation of the Justice and Judicial Center, 44 people are under prosecution and another 13 cases are under detection.
The corruption cases included conviction by open trial for offenders of eight (8) cases and 19 people accused.
Deposits to the government account included AFN 52,567,263, USD 800,040,700, and land and other material.
Over the past years, confiscation of government land occurred in Afghanistan and used for different purposes.