Afghanistan: HRW Urges War Crimes Charges For Jailed IS-Linked Group’s Head

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Human Rights Watch (HRW) is urging the Afghan government to bring war crimes charges against the captured leader of the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP), an affiliate of the extremist group Islamic State (IS).

In a statement late on April 6, HRW said Afghanistan must afford a fair trial in accordance with international human rights standards for Aslam Farooqi, who was arrested two days earlier in Kandahar Province.

Farooqi, whose real name is Abdullah Orakzai, became the ISKP leader in July 2019. The group has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks across Afghanistan that have killed scores of civilians.

HRW said Farooqi's capture is an opportunity for the authorities in Afghanistan to show that they are capable of securing fair justice for victims of war crimes and other atrocities.

Afghanistan has "a poor record in bringing individuals implicated in human rights abuses and war crimes to justice," HRW said.

Farooqi's arrest is "an opportunity for the Afghan authorities to show that they are capable of securing fair justice for victims of war crimes and other atrocities," added Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director at the New York-based human rights watchdog.

Ensuring that victims of ISKP attacks can testify at the trial is "key" in ensuring that "justice is not only done, but seen to be done by those most affected by Farooqi's crimes," Gossman said.

From 2016 to 2018, ISKP militants targeted dozens of Shi'ite mosques and other facilities in Kabul and other Afghan cities, killing and injuring thousands of civilians.

The group claimed responsibility for a March 25 assault on a Sikh temple in Kabul that left at least 25 worshipers dead.

Afghanistan is holding thousands of suspects behind bars under "overly broad terrorism laws" but has not charged any with war crimes or crimes against humanity, which are included in the country's 2017 Penal Code, according to HRW.

The group said that trials of terrorism suspects "are held in secret and often rely on confessions coerced under torture," and the authorities have made "no efforts to solicit victims' participation" in the trials.

"Afghanistan owes it to the victims to carry out a credible prosecution and fair trial of Aslam Farooqi and others accused of serious crimes," Gossman said. "The pursuit of justice is essential if Afghanistan is to bring an end to such violence."

UN Probe Blames Syria, Allies For Civilian Attacks, Avoids Blaming Russia

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A United Nations investigation has concluded the Syrian government or its allies was likely responsible for attacks on a school, a hospital, and two other civilian facilities, but the probe avoided specifically blaming Syria's main military sponsor, Russia, drawing rebukes from rights activists.

Human rights groups criticized the report, whose executive summary was released on April 6, as well as the United Nations for restricting the investigation to a narrow line of inquiry.

The inquiry produced "a "mealy-mouthed' report, all to avoid offending Russia, the prime offender along with Syria," Kenneth Roth, the head of Human Rights Watch, said on Twitter.

Rights groups have long pushed the world body to investigate alleged war crimes committed during the nine-year conflict, which has devastated Syria and killed hundreds of thousands.

The executive summary of the 185-page confidential report said that four civilian facilities -- a child-care facility, a hospital, a school, and a health-care center -- were targeted, and it was "highly probable" that the Syrian government's forces, or its allies, were responsible.

It was "plausible" that a separate attack on a second health center was also carried out by the Syrian government or its allies, the report found.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed a board of inquiry nearly two years ago, authorizing it to investigate incidents in Syria's northwest after Russia and Turkey agreed to establish a "de-escalation zone" in Idlib on September 2018.

At the time of the board's establishment, Russia called the war crimes accusations "a lie." Syria also disputed the allegations.

Rights groups have repeatedly accused Syrian government forces of committing wide-scale war crimes, purposely targeting civilians. Rights groups have also focused attention on Russia, which is Syria's main economic and military sponsor.

Russia's intervention, in September 2015, turned the tide of the war to the advantage of Bashar al-Assad's forces. The northwestern Idlib Province is currently the last rebel stronghold holding out.

Last year, The New York Times published an in-depth investigation of Syrian civilian facilities purposely being targeted.