Country Reports on Terrorism 2012

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: The current Afghan Penal Code, enacted
in 1976, has gaps, a lack of definitions, disproportionate mandatory fines and sentences, and
strict minimum imprisonments that result in overcrowded prisons. A recent workshop established
objectives for penal code reform and provided guidance to the Criminal Law Reform Working
Group for the future path to revise the Penal Code. The workshop also highlighted some areas
for potential concern in the process, such as the influence of radical views regarding Sharia, how
gender-related crimes will be addressed in the new penal code, and compliance with international
obligations regarding human rights and international treaties and conventions to which
Afghanistan is Party. The draft Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) was pending in Parliament at
year’s end.
The draft Law on the Structure and Jurisdiction of the Attorney General’s Office will codify the
structure and funding of the existing Anti-Terrorism Protection Directorate in the Attorney
General’s Office and permit the investigation and prosecution of terrorist and national security
cases using internationally accepted methods and evidentiary rules.
Afghanistan continued to process travelers on entry and departure at major points of entry with
the Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System (PISCES). With support
from the United States, Afghan authorities continued to expand PISCES installations at
additional locations. Afghanistan remained an important partner nation in the Department of
State’s Antiterrorism Assistance program, which continued to shift its focus from the
Presidential Protective Service to the National Directorate of Security’s Detachment 10 security
unit, to help the Afghans build broader, self-sustaining capabilities to protect national leadership,
government facilities, and diplomatic facilities.
The Governments of Afghanistan and the United States investigated a variety of criminal acts,
including kidnappings and conspiracy to commit terrorist acts. On several occasions, U.S. law
enforcement bodies assisted the Ministry of Interior, the National Directorate of Security, and
other Afghan authorities, which enabled them to take actions to disrupt and dismantle terrorist
operations and prosecute terrorist suspects.
In 2012, the Afghan Attorney General’s Office continued to investigate and prosecute violations
of the laws on crimes against the internal and external security of the state (1976 and 1987),
violations of the Law on Combat Against Terrorist Offences (2008), and the Law of Firearms,
Ammunition and Explosives (2005), including laws that prohibit membership in terrorist or
insurgent groups as well as laws that forbid violent acts committed against the state, hostage
taking, murder, and the use of explosives against military forces and state infrastructure. The
number of these cases that were investigated and prosecuted increased. A high percentage of
these cases, primarily as a consequence of the March 9 Memorandum of Understanding on the
Transfer of U.S. Detention Facilities, were tried at the Justice Center in Parwan. Cases were
investigated and prosecuted in large numbers in the provinces as well, including a significant
number in Kabul.
A number of incidents involving terrorist acts directed at U.S. citizens and interests were
investigated and action taken by Afghan authorities. Two highlights included the December
kidnapping and hostage recovery of a U.S. person and the November detention and subsequent
Foreign Transfer of Custody of an American Unlawful Enemy Combatant.
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