Afghanistan

ILF-Afghanistan is a country-wide public defender organization that provides free criminal defense services to Afghanistan’s poor. It was the first and, to date, remains the only nongovernmental organization in Afghanistan providing systematic representation to all indigent Afghans accused of crimes, without regard to ethnicity, gender, age or political affiliation. In 2003, the ILF opened Afghanistan’s first independent public defender office in Kabul with two Afghan lawyers. Today, with 73 lawyers and 13 offices around the country, ILF-Afghanistan remains the nation’s primary provider of indigent defense services. Since its founding, ILF-Afghanistan has represented 20,000 indigent clients.

Shabir Ahmad Kamawal

Country Director

Shabir Ahmad Kamawal, the country director of ILF-Afghanistan, oversees the operations of ILF-Afghanistan’s 13 offices countrywide. Kamawal joined ILF-Afghanistan in early 2006, defending clients in Kabul. His skill and talent as a criminal defense lawyer, as well as his leadership ability, quickly led to his promotion as head of the ILF-Afghanistan Jalalabad Office and then to acting country director of ILF-Afghanistan. Prior to becoming a criminal defense lawyer, Kamawal taught Islamic theology, culture, and jurisprudence at the teacher’s institute of Nengarhar and Meya Omar High School, both in Jalalabad. He was born in Kama, Nengarhar, Afghanistan and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in the Faculty of Sharia and Department of Islamic Jurisprudence and Law from Kabul Universiy.

Mohammad Afzal Mullah Khil

Chief Legal Supervisor

Mohammad Afzal Mullah Khil, the ILF-Afghanistan’s chief legal supervisor, has had an ongoing relationship with the organization for the past four years. Afzal came to the ILF in 2007 after a judicial appointment with the Kabul Criminal Tribunal Appeal Court and returned following another appointment as a civil tribunal judge in Bamyan province and Kabul from 2008 to 2010. A native of the Laghman Province of Afghanistan, Afzal began his studies in Madrasa e Emam e Ahzam (Emam Ahzam religious school) and proceeded on to Kabul University where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Sharia Law. He joined the Sharia Law Faculty of Kabul University in and continued with his studies in specialized religious lessons through Jame e Tangi (Tangi Society) from which he graduated in1998. Afzal obtained his judicial license in 2004.

Noorulhuda Gulzada

Finance Manager

Noorulhuda Gulzada, the finance manager for ILF-Afghanistan, has been responsible for the day-to-day financial operation of the ILF-Afghanistan’s Kabul office since April 2006. In this capacity, he oversees all financial transactions out of Kabul, supervises all provincial finance officers for the organization’s 13 regional outposts and prepares monthly business reports for the ILF headquarters in New York. Prior to joining the ILF, Gulzada worked as the controller for the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, a finance assistant for the GTZ, a German development agency, in Peshawar, Pakistan and as an administrative assistant for Swiss Aid. Gulzuda holds a degree in business and administration from COMTEC College in Peshawar, Pakistan, and speaks fluent Pashto, Dari, Farsi, Urdu and English.

Sayed Mohammad

Human Resources Manager

Sayed Mohammad, the human resources manager for the ILF-Afghanistan, came to the organization in December 2010 from the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, where he served as a human rights and administration officer for five years. Prior to that, Mohammed worked at the Marine Star Company, a construction and renovation company, starting out as a human resources officer and moving up to the head of Human Resources Management. He began his career at the International Rescue Committee, where he studied English and worked as a translator. A native of the Khust Province, Mohammed recently gained admission to the Bakhter University of Kabul and is studying business administration.

Abdul Qayum Ahmadzai

Data and Development Manager

Abdul Qayum Ahmadzai, the data and development manager for ILF-Afghanistan, ensures accurate representation of defendants and tracks their progress through the courts. Ahmadzai compiles weekly client reports from provincial offices and prepares them for dissemination to the ILF-New York officers and board members for review. Ahmadzai also works as a key translator for the ILF, ensuring the correct interpretation of Pashto and Dari by English-speaking attorneys. Prior to joining ILF-Afghanistan, Ahmadzai worked as an interpreter and translator for the British Embassy in Kabul, a secretary for the Afghan Embassy in Bonn, Germany and a media assistant to the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Peshawar, Pakistan. He is a graduate of Itehad Islami Afghanistani high school in Peshawar and received journalism and English training from the International Rescue Committee’s Pakistan office.

Najiba Rahman Zada

Government Liaison

Najiba Rahman Zada, ILF-A’s government liaison, is a former juvenile court judge who became Afghanistan’s first female criminal defense lawyer when she was hired in 2003. In 2009, Zada was promoted to communications manager. In this capacity, she is responsible for representing ILF-Afghanistan at government offices and nongovernmental organizations. She also supervises the work of all lawyers within the office who specialize in juvenile cases, and she carries a caseload of juvenile cases. A native of Kabul, she obtained her bachelor’s degree in law from the Faculty of Sharia and Law from Kabul University. Zada was successfully admitted to the Judicial Stage Course and earned her judicial license in 1987.

Ahadullah Azimi

Training Manager

Ahadullah Azimi, the training manager for ILF-Afghanistan, helps supervise and organize the training of all current and new employees in its Kabul headquarters and provincial offices. A paralegal with significant legal training in matters of defense, Azimi has been with ILF-Afghanistan since just after its inception in 2003, acting as crucial point person for human resources, translation efforts and client representation. Azimi is a 2003 graduate of Kabul University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and he speaks Pashto, Dari and English.

Parviz Ahmad Ghafarzai

Administrative Manager

Parviz Ahmad Ghafarzai, the administrative manager for ILF-Afghanistan, joined the organization in 2010 after serving several years as an auditor with the Afghanistan Ministry of Education and the Kabul Directorate of Education. A native of Jalalabad, Ghafarzai began his career as a financial assistant for several regional companies, including the National Bank of Pakistan and the Kochee Marble Factory in Peshawar. Ghafarzai holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Preston University in Kohat, Pakistan and is scheduled to complete his MBA with a specialization in human resource management from Preston University in spring 2011. He speaks Urdu, Dari, Hindi and English.

Mohammad Rafi Nadiri

Legal Clinic Manager

Mohammad Rafi Nadiri, ILF-Afghanistan’s legal clinic manager, oversees and supervises the NGO’s clinic program, the country’s first, which operates in Kabul, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif and Jalalabad. Nadiri has worked at ILF-Afghanistan since 2004, first as a staff attorney in Kunduz, then as a supervisor. In 2007 Nadiri was promoted to legal clinical manager. Nadiri graduated from the Faculty of Law and Political Science at Kabul University in 2003.