Prosecutors For Prosecutors, a Campaign to Help Save the Lives of Prosecutors and Their Families Who Remain in Afghanistan

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office announced today that it has joined Prosecutors For Prosecutors (PFP), a campaign by the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (APA-US) to help save the lives of prosecutors and their families who remain in Afghanistan.

 

The campaign was launched in response to a dire request for help from the APA-US counterpart in Afghanistan (APA-AF), which has identified over 3,800 prosecutors and key staff members that remain in Afghanistan and is reporting that 26 have been tortured and killed by the Taliban, to date. The goal is to raise $15 million to save the lives of 1,500 Afghan prosecutors and their families by evacuating them to safe countries.

 

“Prosecutors in Afghanistan, along with their families, are being hunted and killed because of their commitment towards a safer, more just society, consistent with the goals of transparency and constitutional principles championed by the United States,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “These prosecutors dedicated their lives to implementing a system based on American democracy and it is costing them dearly. Now is not the time to turn our backs against our partners. Our office, the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, and prosecutors from around the US are committed to getting our Afghan colleagues and their families to safety.”

 

"I am proud of this project and the leadership by the APA. There are hundreds of Afghan prosecutors and judges who put their duty ahead of their safety,” said Jackson County, MO Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker. “Now we have a moral duty to act to protect them. My office has committed to offering employment to relocated Afghan prosecutors."

 

Prior to the fall of Kabul in August of 2021, there were approximately 6,000 Afghan staff members of the Afghanistan Attorney General Office supporting rule of law programs. Many were the prosecutors responsible for criminal cases against members of the Taliban for murder, terrorism, assaults, kidnapping, abductions, violence against women, and drug crimes. Most were members of the Afghanistan Prosecutors Association (APA-AF) and trained by the US and allied nations. They are currently hiding – unemployed and facing famine and starvation. Afghan prosecutors are not eligible for Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) to the US as they were not directly employed by the US government and other visa programs can take years before they are processed. For more information on the campaign, please visit www.apa-pfp.org.