Ex-election commissioners receive ‘two and a half’ years sentence: Appeals Court

Appeals Court has sentenced the ex-election commissioners each to two and a half years in prison.

The Chief Justice of the Appeals Court says the court’s verdict is not final yet, and the defendants can take their appeals to the Supreme Court.

The Heavy Crimes Justice Center held the trial for 11 of the former commissioners of the IEC and IECC on Wednesday.

The justice center reduced the verdict from 5 to 2.5 years for the 11 ex-election commissioners. The chief of the center underlined that the defendants should pay fines as well.

This comes as the former commissioners of the IEC and IECC considered their imprisonment as ‘political and biased’.

“They have dismissed us and entered our office. They have taken our personal belongings and used them as evidence against us. This is clearly biased,” said Abdul Badi Sayad, the former commissioner of the IEC.

Saleh Mohammad Saleh, the ex-MP from Konar Province said that around 6,054 votes from Konar had been dismissed by the IEC and IECC without any reason. He said that the IEC and IECC had violated the rights of 6,054 people.

The Heavy Crimes Justice Center sentenced the former commissioner and members of the IEC, the former commissioner and two members of IECC to 5 years jail. They were accused of misusing their power and changing the votes of Konar Province in the Afghanistan Parliament.