Joya Meets with the Fathers of Two Children Who Were Killed by a Brutal Commander

April 31, 2006

On April 31, 2006 a big demonstration was held in Takhar province, in the north of Afghanistan, against the local warlords and armed commanders. The demonstration was organized by people from the town of Sahab, who are mostly Uzbek, a major ethnic group in the north of Afghanistan. The demonstrators were furious because of the death of two children, Mohammad Yusuf who was 6 years old and Fridoon, a 7-year-old boy. They were kidnapped by the warlord, Ainuddin, and found dead later in the Kokcha river. The demonstrators claimed that the criminals who committed the crime were supported by more powerful warlords such as Pirem Qul who is a parliament member and Sadruddin who is a member of the Provincial Council in Takhar, and were able to escape from justice.

In Takhar Province, warlords from Rabbani's Jamiat-e- Islami gang, -- a fundamentalist Afghan Party that was in power during the civil war period--, and Junbish–e-Islami Party --the party of famous Uzbek warlord, Rashid Dostum -- are in power and nobody pays attention to the rightful voice of people.

Mr. Abdul Hakim and Mr. Najibullah the fathers of two children who were killed savagely had to come to Kabul to meet Ms. Joya to help them seek justice. Ms. Joya expressed her sympathy to the fathers of two children and promised that she would do whatever she could to bring the murders of the two innocent children to justice.