<p>
Three months ago, as judges and prosecutors, they put some of Afghanistan&rsquo;s most infamous criminals and terrorists behind bars. But today they are forced to hide fearing retribution from those prisoners&nbsp; who were freed by the Taliban when they captured the country.</p>
<p>
&quot;We are very fearful, terrified,&rdquo; one former&nbsp; judge told Bloomberg from his undisclosed location.</p>
<p>
&ldquo;I lost my job and now I can&rsquo;t even go outside,&rdquo; said another judge who is in hiding</p>
<p>
Bloomberg shared a video clip&nbsp; of some of these judges hiding in Afghanistan, after receiving threats from prisoners they had previously put behind bars.</p>
<p>
<strong>Watch Video :</strong></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">
&quot;We are very fearful, terrified.&rdquo;<br />
<br />
These judges are in hiding in Afghanistan, after receiving threats from prisoners they had previously put behind bars. Thousands of inmates were released after the Taliban took over the country <a href="https://t.co/3YPp7aUSXW">pic.twitter.com/3YPp7aUSXW</a></p>
&mdash; Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) <a href="https://twitter.com/Quicktake/status/1473893045439451140?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><p>
Since the Taliban released hundreds of prisoners, judges in Afghanistan are facing threats from those they sentenced.</p>
<p>
Despite the insurgent group&rsquo;s declaration of a general amnesty, many judges have not dared to emerge overground. So far, the Taliban have shown little respect for fundamental human rights &mdash; much less any inclination to adopt a system of checks and balances. In fact, the Taliban&#39;s Supreme Court has fired 2,000 judges from the previous government in Afghanistan and replaced them with religious scholars and muftis.</p>
<p>
&ldquo;A genocide of educated Afghans by the Taliban is going on, as hundreds of former government officials, intellectuals, judges, Salafi Muslims &amp; members of their families are killed every day. The silence of the international&nbsp; community is cruel &amp; inhuman,&rdquo; says Majeed Qarar, an Afghan analyst.</p>
<p>
Situation is worse for more than 250 women judges who are under threat and in hiding, according to the International Association of Women Judges. Taliban officials have recovered their personal information from court records, several former judges said, and some have had their bank accounts frozen.</p>
<p>
&ldquo;The women judges of Afghanistan are under threat for applying the law. They have not only lost their jobs, but also live in a state of perpetual fear that they or their loved ones could be tracked down and killed,&rdquo; says the statement issued by the International Association of Women Judges.</p>
<p>
A Taliban spokesman, Bilal Karimi, said no decision had been made about a future role for female judges and lawyers.&nbsp; But the legal professionals&nbsp; say they have been effectively fired because it is too dangerous for them to continue their work, given the Taliban&rsquo;s disapproval of women who sit in judgement of men.</p>
<p>
Some female judges and lawyers have managed to escape Afghanistan.</p>
<p>
Though, the Taliban spokesperson Karimi said that, &ldquo;those people who are living in hiding, we are telling them that they should feel free, we won&rsquo;t do anything to you.&rdquo; But no one trusts the Taliban.</p>
<p>
It is unclear how long the Taliban&rsquo;s second stint in power will last. But&nbsp; one thing seems certain&mdash;an&nbsp; independent judiciary and the rule of law will remain even more elusive for the foreseeable future.</p>
<p>
<strong>Also Read :</strong> <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/imran-khan-s-odious-shocker-girls-have-no-right-to-education-under-af-pak-social-code-136789.html">Imran Khan&rsquo;s odious shocker&mdash;girls have no right to education under Af-Pak social code</a></p>
On the 4th death anniversary of human rights activist Karima Baloch, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee…
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit the US from December 24-29 to discuss key…
Students at the Bolan Medical College (BMC) in Balochistan's Quetta entered the 27th day of…
The intensifying cutting of trees for firewood in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) is not only worsening…
A group of retired judges, bureaucrats, Army officials and other civil society members have penned…
Israel and Slovakia signed a 2 billion shekel (USD 582 million) agreement on Monday to…