Prosecutors in Missouri are rallying around former prosecutors in Afghanistan who are trying to flee the Taliban-run government.
Darrell Moore is Executive Director of the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys. He said they’re trying to get as many American-trained prosecutors out of Afghanistan as quickly as possible.
“We estimate that about 6,000 Afghans were trained by us or our allies on how to run a justice system similar to ours and were specifically trained in the role of prosecution and prosecutors in the justice system,” he told Missourinet.
The Taliban regained control of the Afghan government two years ago when President Biden withdrew American troops after nearly two decades. Prosecutors who were working with the U.S. had to go into hiding and are now being hunted down.
“In that role, they helped convict 50,000 or more members of the Taliban and other terrorist groups,” Moore said. “Once the Taliban took over, they released all of those prisoners, and now the people that were convicted are trying to find and kill the prosecutors that helped bring them to justice under the old regime.”
Prosecutors in Missouri and other states are trying to raise $180,000 to cover the cost of getting 18 U.S. trained prosecutors out of Afghanistan. It’s part of a national effort to rescue more than 3,000 of them. Moore said they’re also trying to get the U.S. government to speed up the process for granting exit visas for them.
For more information visit apa-fpf.org.
Copyright 2023, Missourinet.
