Hillar Moore is the District Attorney for East Baton Rouge and has developed a reputation for fighting hard for victims, including those impacted by domestic abuse, fraternity hazing, and the rising opioid epidemic. As a member of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, Hillar has been working on assisting Afghan prosecutors who were left behind after the U.S. withdrawal, and had no access to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program or the special immigrant visa program despite having worked to instill the rule of law in support of U.S. operations in Afghanistan.
Joe Maida IV is a former Texas prosecutor who supported the Afghan legal system’s growth between 2006 and 2013 on the ground, and focused on Afghanistan policy at U.S. Special Operations Command, and later at Special Operations and Combating Terrorism at the Pentagon through 2019. In August 2021, he supported the evacuation of an Afghan prosecutor with whom he worked and his family during the final days of the US presence. In December 2021, he started a group that has grown to over 130 members from different nations trying to support legal pathways for justice sector officials seeking to leave Afghanistan.
In this episode, Hillar talks about an upcoming Association of Prosecuting Attorneys fundraiser which hopes to raise at least $200,000 to support some of the around 1,500 Afghan attorneys who were left behind after the U.S. withdrawal and need to be resettled in safe countries. The APA estimates this will cost around $10,000 per family, or about $15 million together.
Joe Maida IV offers his expertise and stories from his time in Afghanistan, as well as his ongoing efforts to support prosecutors attempting to leave Afghanistan.
This week’s letter comes from “Asan,” an Afghan Air Force officer left behind and asking for assistance from the U.S. leadership to support the movement of other vulnerable Afghan military personnel from the country.
Find information about the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys’ Gala here: https://apat.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_mcform&view=ngforms&id=2212720#!/
For more on Afghan prosecutors’ plight, or to access the Fox article Beth (continually) references, go here:
https://www.foxnews.com/world/former-afghan-prosecutors-hunted-down-killed-taliban-three-years-after-us-withdrawal
About the host:
Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as a civilian intelligence analyst for the Department of the Army between 2010 and 2013. She is a freelance contributor to Fox News Digital and the Washington Examiner. Follow her on Instagram or X @BWBailey85.
For Afghan listeners:
If you would like to have your story considered for a future episode, please send us a letter about your experiences to our show e-mail address, theafghanistanprojectpodcast@gmail.com. Please include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.
Episode 64 - East Baton Rouge DA Hillar Moore and former Texas prosecutor Joe Maida IV talk Afghan prosecutors