The United States withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021. Fearing a takeover by the ultra-restrictive Taliban rule, thousands started to evacuate.
Some people managed to escape alive, but others are still living in hiding.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced plans to help bring home some of those who have been left behind: U.S.-trained Afghan prosecutors.
Related: US Army Vet Says Pentagon Wants To Charge Him For Gear He Was Ordered To Leave In Afghanistan
“These are men and women who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with our military members and upheld the law,” said Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. “These prosecutors helped us when we needed them; now they need us. They live in daily fear of losing their lives. We cannot turn a blind eye to their dire situation.”
About 1,500 Afghan prosecutors have received training from U.S. officials to prosecute and imprison Taliban and Islamic State insurgents, according to the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (APA).
Thirty-five Afghan prosecutors have been killed since the Taliban took over the country.
The APA started a fundraising initiative named “Prosecutors for Prosecutors” in July 2023.
To evacuate and relocate the prosecutors and their families to a secure nation, $15 million is needed.
Read: Biden Rips Reporter Questioning Him On Botched Afghanistan Withdrawal Report
Najia Mahmodi, the former Chief of Litigation for Violence Against Women for the Afghanistan Attorney General’s Office, was hosted by County Attorney Mitchell in a press conference last week.
Mahmodi was lucky to have left Afghanistan on one of the final planes out of the nation. She now keeps in regular contact with the female prosecutors who have been left behind here in the United States.
“I am receiving hundreds of messages from the women prosecutors who have been left behind asking for help. Some of these women prosecuted Taliban members who were sent to prison for domestic violence and those members are now free,” said Najia Mahmodi. “I am proud to be the voice to help rescue these women.”
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, under the leadership of County Attorney Mitchell, raised $3,255 for this cause in the last quarter of 2023. According to the APA, the monies raised helped bring one prosecutor from Afghanistan to Virginia earlier this month.
To learn more about the fundraising efforts of the APA, check out the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys Prosecutors for Prosecutors webpage.
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