Assassinations of judges: Terrorists kill Afghan scholars

Mahmoud Mohammadi

Extremist organizations in Afghanistan seek to silence the voice of judges, as they are subjected to fierce campaigns because of their rulings on extremists. Over the past few years, the incidents of targeting judges and court members in Afghanistan have been repeated, and 11 judges were assassinated during 2021 so far alone.

In a study, the Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism stated that one of the most important reasons for targeting judges is that they issue rulings that are not in line with the desires of terrorist groups. Therefore, extremists reject these rulings, bearing hatred in their hearts and the intent of revenge, so they find no way to satisfy their sick desires except with the bullets of treachery and betrayal.

On June 8, Judge Mohammad Fayyaz, who was working in the Kandahar Municipal Court of First Instance, was assassinated. The Taliban claimed responsibility for his assassination, claiming that the reason was because Fayyaz had fabricated problems in the movement’s files.

The study said that these terrorist operations, with the terrorists’ justifications for them and their attachment to religion, sound the alarm bell, as terrorism against judges and interference in their jurisdiction regarding the issuance of judicial rulings hinder the movement of societies, which leads to collapse due to the chaos that will spread everywhere instead of the regime as a stabilizing force. This terrorist approach is not new to organizations that are known for their permissibility of murders and their disregard for bloodshed.

On May 19, 2013, four terrorists targeted a number of judges and were arrested, and there are many examples of that, because the series of successive assassinations of judges constitutes a major security challenge that must be amputated so that Afghan society can enjoy security and peace.

Women’s work

Extremist organizations refuse women working or their leaving their homes, and accordingly, the systematic assassinations of female judges are carried out with the aim of terrorizing them and spreading terror in their hearts. For example, two female judges who had worked in the judiciary for several years, Zakia Herawi and Qadria Yasini, were shot on January 17, 2021. There have also been a number of operations, close to 200 assassinations, against Afghan women judges, according to the spokesperson for the Supreme Court.

For his part, Herawi’s brother commented on the assassination of his sister, saying that the assassination caused pain and sadness for the whole family. As for Yasini, five bullets penetrated her body, and it is strange that by reviewing the cameras, it was found that the killers were a group of young boys, whose empty minds were built on the doctrine of disregard for murder and bloodshed.

Financial extortion

Extremist organizations depend on financing their terrorist operations through the collection of taxes and royalties that they impose on those who live in the areas under their control, while those who reject these practices are punished by death. This is what the Taliban did with one of the public prosecutors at the Paktia Court of Appeal, who was assassinated in March 2021 after he refused to pay the money they had requested from him.

It can be concluded from the above that the Taliban aims to achieve a number of results, including creating panic and anxiety among judges. The assassination of prominent figures in the judiciary poses a threat to society and raises fear in the hearts of those who bear the responsibility of ruling justice and proving people’s rights. Therefore, the extremists seek to spread a state of fear among the judges, thinking that this will change their attitudes.

The Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism stressed that it stands behind the judges to help spread security among the people, urging them not to leave their country so that the extremists do not achieve their malicious intention.

The Al-Azhar Observatory affirmed its total rejection of all these terrorist acts by extremist organizations against judges that aim to destabilize security and stability, stressing the need to establish the correct rules of religion and to spread moderate thought among young and old in order to limit their luring or polarization so that terrorist organizations do not exploit them and turn them into fuel for war and ruin for the country.