SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Afghan Graft Prosecutor 'Fired'
A leading prosecutor in Afghanistan says he has
been fired for refusing to block corruption investigations into senior
government officials.
Fazel Ahmed Faqiryar, a former deputy attorney-general, told The New York Times
newspaper that Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, and his allies had
blocked or stalled investigations into more than two dozen officials.
Aug 29, 2010
A leading prosecutor in Afghanistan says he has
been fired for refusing to block corruption investigations into senior
government officials.
Fazel Ahmed Faqiryar, a former deputy attorney-general, told The New York Times
newspaper that Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, and his allies had
blocked or stalled investigations into more than two dozen officials.
He said the probes included cases into cabinet ministers, ambassadors and provincial governors.
"He [Karzai] won't sign anything. We have great, honest and
professional prosecutors here, but we need support," Faqiryar told the Times.
"We propose investigations, detentions and prosecutions of high government officials by we cannot resist him [Karzai]."
The account has been largely corroborated by five
western officials familiar with the cases, who said that Karzai and his
government have repeatedly thwarted prosecutions against high-ranking
officials, the paper reported.
'Stalling and stalling'
One US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that
Afghan prosecutors had prepared several cases against officials
suspected of corruption but Karzai was "stalling and stalling and
stalling".
Faqiryar
said his prosecutors had opened cases on at least 25 current or former
Afghan officials including 17 members of Karzai's cabinet, five
provincial governors and at least three ambassadors.
But Umer Daudzai, Karzai's chief of staff, disputed the allegations
and said his government was trying to stop corruption cases from
becoming "politicised".
"I strongly deny that the president has been in any way obstructing the investigations of these cases," Daudzai told the Times. "On the contrary, he [Karzai] has done his bit."
Cases did not proceed
None of the cases have been able to proceed, Faqiryar said. He did
not elaborate on the cases specifically, nor did he say if Karzai
himself was involved in all of the cases or if the orders were coming
from Ishaq Aloko, the country's attorney-general, or other ministers.
Afghanistan's government, financed with money from the US and Nato, is "widely regarded as one of the most corrupt in the world", the Times reported.
Earlier this month, Karzai intervened to stop the prosecution of
Mohammed Zia Salehi, one of his closest aides, after investigators said
they had wiretapped conversations where he demanded a bribe from another
Afghan seeking his help in ending a corruption investigation.
Haroun Mir, an Afghan political analyst, told Al Jazeera that
Karzai's administration has been struggling with corruption since his
re-election.
"Instead of taking measures in the fight against corruption to
improve his image, he [Karzai] has dismissed [Faqiryar]," Mir said.
Power brokers, including those who helped in Karzai's election, have virtual immunity from prosecution, he said.
"I don't think Karzai will be able to take any action against these powerful people in the country," Mir said.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A leading prosecutor in Afghanistan says he has
been fired for refusing to block corruption investigations into senior
government officials.
Fazel Ahmed Faqiryar, a former deputy attorney-general, told The New York Times
newspaper that Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, and his allies had
blocked or stalled investigations into more than two dozen officials.
He said the probes included cases into cabinet ministers, ambassadors and provincial governors.
"He [Karzai] won't sign anything. We have great, honest and
professional prosecutors here, but we need support," Faqiryar told the Times.
"We propose investigations, detentions and prosecutions of high government officials by we cannot resist him [Karzai]."
The account has been largely corroborated by five
western officials familiar with the cases, who said that Karzai and his
government have repeatedly thwarted prosecutions against high-ranking
officials, the paper reported.
'Stalling and stalling'
One US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that
Afghan prosecutors had prepared several cases against officials
suspected of corruption but Karzai was "stalling and stalling and
stalling".
Faqiryar
said his prosecutors had opened cases on at least 25 current or former
Afghan officials including 17 members of Karzai's cabinet, five
provincial governors and at least three ambassadors.
But Umer Daudzai, Karzai's chief of staff, disputed the allegations
and said his government was trying to stop corruption cases from
becoming "politicised".
"I strongly deny that the president has been in any way obstructing the investigations of these cases," Daudzai told the Times. "On the contrary, he [Karzai] has done his bit."
Cases did not proceed
None of the cases have been able to proceed, Faqiryar said. He did
not elaborate on the cases specifically, nor did he say if Karzai
himself was involved in all of the cases or if the orders were coming
from Ishaq Aloko, the country's attorney-general, or other ministers.
Afghanistan's government, financed with money from the US and Nato, is "widely regarded as one of the most corrupt in the world", the Times reported.
Earlier this month, Karzai intervened to stop the prosecution of
Mohammed Zia Salehi, one of his closest aides, after investigators said
they had wiretapped conversations where he demanded a bribe from another
Afghan seeking his help in ending a corruption investigation.
Haroun Mir, an Afghan political analyst, told Al Jazeera that
Karzai's administration has been struggling with corruption since his
re-election.
"Instead of taking measures in the fight against corruption to
improve his image, he [Karzai] has dismissed [Faqiryar]," Mir said.
Power brokers, including those who helped in Karzai's election, have virtual immunity from prosecution, he said.
"I don't think Karzai will be able to take any action against these powerful people in the country," Mir said.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
A leading prosecutor in Afghanistan says he has
been fired for refusing to block corruption investigations into senior
government officials.
Fazel Ahmed Faqiryar, a former deputy attorney-general, told The New York Times
newspaper that Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, and his allies had
blocked or stalled investigations into more than two dozen officials.
He said the probes included cases into cabinet ministers, ambassadors and provincial governors.
"He [Karzai] won't sign anything. We have great, honest and
professional prosecutors here, but we need support," Faqiryar told the Times.
"We propose investigations, detentions and prosecutions of high government officials by we cannot resist him [Karzai]."
The account has been largely corroborated by five
western officials familiar with the cases, who said that Karzai and his
government have repeatedly thwarted prosecutions against high-ranking
officials, the paper reported.
'Stalling and stalling'
One US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that
Afghan prosecutors had prepared several cases against officials
suspected of corruption but Karzai was "stalling and stalling and
stalling".
Faqiryar
said his prosecutors had opened cases on at least 25 current or former
Afghan officials including 17 members of Karzai's cabinet, five
provincial governors and at least three ambassadors.
But Umer Daudzai, Karzai's chief of staff, disputed the allegations
and said his government was trying to stop corruption cases from
becoming "politicised".
"I strongly deny that the president has been in any way obstructing the investigations of these cases," Daudzai told the Times. "On the contrary, he [Karzai] has done his bit."
Cases did not proceed
None of the cases have been able to proceed, Faqiryar said. He did
not elaborate on the cases specifically, nor did he say if Karzai
himself was involved in all of the cases or if the orders were coming
from Ishaq Aloko, the country's attorney-general, or other ministers.
Afghanistan's government, financed with money from the US and Nato, is "widely regarded as one of the most corrupt in the world", the Times reported.
Earlier this month, Karzai intervened to stop the prosecution of
Mohammed Zia Salehi, one of his closest aides, after investigators said
they had wiretapped conversations where he demanded a bribe from another
Afghan seeking his help in ending a corruption investigation.
Haroun Mir, an Afghan political analyst, told Al Jazeera that
Karzai's administration has been struggling with corruption since his
re-election.
"Instead of taking measures in the fight against corruption to
improve his image, he [Karzai] has dismissed [Faqiryar]," Mir said.
Power brokers, including those who helped in Karzai's election, have virtual immunity from prosecution, he said.
"I don't think Karzai will be able to take any action against these powerful people in the country," Mir said.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy