Closure

September 18, 2013 11:36 AM

During the communist coup and Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1978-1979, thousands of Afghan people disappeared. It was always suspected that most of these people had been murdered, but for many victims this couldn't be proved, which left their family in uncertainty for decades. A war crimes investigation by the International Crimes Unit of the Dutch police however turned up evidence that will end some of this uncertainty. This evidence, in the form of transport orders and death lists for some 5,000 victims has now been put online by the Dutch ministry of justice.
posted by MartinWisse (9 comments total)

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posted by bearwife at 11:37 AM on September 18, 2013

Amanullah O. came to the Netherlands seeking asylum in 1993. In an interview with the Immigration Service, he stated that he had been the head of the Interrogation Department of AGSA, where people were tortured. He also stated that he had signed documents concerning people who were to be executed. From his statement: “Of course there were people who were maltreated during interrogations. Naturally, I was responsible for such maltreatment, but that is how it goes in Afghanistan. It was not possible to adopt a different attitude. That was expected and desired of me. If you don’t go along with it, you can never attain such a high position.” Partly on the basis of this interview with the Immigration Service, O. was denied refugee-status in The Netherlands in conformity with Article 1F of the Refugee Convention.

The head torturer didn't get his position through brains, that's for sure.
posted by jaduncan at 11:54 AM on September 18, 2013 [4 favorites]

Seriously. At that point you're not a refugee, you're a damned fugitive from justice, and The Netherlands is the last place you want to go if that's the game you're trying to play.
posted by 1adam12 at 12:14 PM on September 18, 2013

I'm kind of flabbergasted that he thought "Well of course I had to torture, or I wouldn't get that promotion!" would fly. Not "I was forced to", no, just "I really wanted that raise and parking space."
posted by jason_steakums at 12:29 PM on September 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

I don't know, jason_steakums, it strikes me as an almost perfect example of what happens when someone adopts realpolitik uncritically and wholeheartedly. His argument is not that he is not morally responsible because he was just following orders, but rather that his behavior is beyond reproach because torturing in Afghanistan was purely pragmatic, simply what anyone there with those goals would need to do.
posted by kewb at 1:13 PM on September 18, 2013

and The Netherlands is the last place you want to go if that's the game you're trying to play.

Dude lived nineteen prosecution-free years in his country of choice after walking in the door with still-bloody hands: I'd say he picked maybe OK. Better than going someplace that would have said "no thanks," and put him on a return plane, certainly.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 1:23 PM on September 18, 2013

It never ceases to amaze me about these horrific regimes that they keep such great paperwork. Or that somehow a murderous invading foreign power would somehow be more terrifying should they decide to not keep track at all...to just toss you somewhere and not even bother to make a note of it. *shiver*
posted by nevercalm at 2:48 PM on September 18, 2013

Better than going someplace that would have said "no thanks," and put him on a return plane, certainly.

Pushing him out of the return plane would be fine with me.
posted by BlueHorse at 6:16 PM on September 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

Is there an explanation of what the terms in the "Accused Of" column in the full list mean? Does "Ikhwani" mean Muslim Brotherhood? What is "Shola"?
posted by exhilaration at 8:00 AM on September 20, 2013