Kabul seeks changes to legislation that would have limited family violence testimony

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Stars and Stripes, 18 February 2014

In a report on a proposed controversial change to Afghanistan's criminal code, AAN's Christine Roehrs is quoted:

Christine Roehrs, an analyst with the Afghanistan Analyst Network, said that even if changes are made to Article 26 to allow family members to testify voluntarily, the new article will still be weaker than the existing version. The relevant provision of the current code lets officials call relatives to the stand if the victim of the crime is a relative or if a relative first reported the crime. …

Still, Roehrs said, it is important that the law explicitly give family members the option if they choose to do so.