Press Releases

Berlin (DAV). Since the Taliban took power, Afghan lawyers, like all legal profes­sionals, are in great danger. The German Bar Association (DAV) already adressed the issue to the German government last week, demanding to put those affected on evacuation lists and to bring them to safety immediately.

There are certain profes­sional groups somehow measuring the degree of freedom within a country: In addition to media and cultural profes­sionals, these include, above all, lawyers. Since the Taliban's sudden return to power, all of those have now come under pressure. The judiciary, which has attempted to build and consolidate a State governed by the rule of law over the past two decades, is becoming a target. Numerous calls for help in recent days show that the fear of revenge is not just theory.

"It is absolutely necessary to put the threatened legal profes­sionals on evacuation lists and to ensure their departure from Afghanistan as soon as possible" warns DAV President Edith Kindermann. Especially female lawyers, judges and prosecutors are threatened with torture and murder by the Taliban.

The DAV has written to German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel and to German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas demanding the immediate evacuation of the endangered legal profes­sionals. The DAV supports corresponding efforts by other organi­zations. The G7 lawyers' organi­zations have also issued a current statement on this issue.