AIHRC maintains call for justice on behalf of murdered colleagues

Following a memorial to observe forty days since the death of colleagues Fatima Khalil and Ahmad Jawid Folad, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission has called on security, justice and judicial agencies to identify the perpetrators of the killings and provide justice for the victims' families.

The Commission also called on the authorities to identify the perpetrators of previous attacks on AIHRC staff and civil and human rights activists and to ensure justice for all.

"The targeted killing of civil and human rights activists is depriving Afghanistan of an educated and productive workforce committed to the values of openness, democracy and human rights," the AIHRC said in a statement.

The AIHRC also noted that such attacks constitute a war crime.

"It should be added that the attack on civil and human rights activists is a multidimensional and complex crime," the statement added.

The AIHRC expressed its serious concern about the deteriorating situation of human rights defenders in Afghanistan

It also called for the full implementation of proposals made by Amnesty International in its "Strategy for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders", which was presented to the Government of Afghanistan in January 2020.

"The AIHRC expresses its sympathy and solidarity with the victims' families, especially the families of our two colleagues who lost their lives recently, and continues to advocate for justice until the perpetrators of the brutal crime are finally brought to justice," the statement said.

Date: 6 August 2020

Source: Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission