Abul Razaq Wahidi served 103 days in prison, and on July 21, 2019, the appeal court of the Anticorruption Criminal Justice Center acquitted him.
Abul Razaq Wahidi, former Minister of Communication and Information Technology, who had been sentenced to three years in prison on charge of corruption, and abuse of power, was acquitted by the appeal court of the Anticorruption Criminal Justice Center on July 21, 2019.
Born in 1979, Wahidi earned a master degree in mathematics from the University of Isfahan. He returned to Afghanistan in 2002. Upon his return, Wahidi joined the Kabul University_ teaching mathematics. He served as deputy minister at the Ministry of Finance, too. In April 2015, Wahidi was appointed as minister of Communication and Information Technology but shortly after his appointment, he was suspended on allegation of corruption.
2015 –Ministry of Communication and Information Technology
In March 2015, President Ashraf Ghani introduced Abdul Razaq Wahidi as minister for the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology to the Afghan parliament for vote of confidence. In April 2015, the Afghan MPs gave him vote of confidence, and he became Minister of Information Technology and Communication.
2016 –Impeachment of Afghan ministers
In November 2017, the Afghan parliament impeached four cabinet ministers, including Wahidi, over failure to spend development budgets. The ministers who were impeached refused to appear in the parliament. In their absentia, the lawmakers disqualified Wahidi although they gave vote of confidence to the three other ministers. Mr. Wahidi however continued to work as minister of MITC until January 2017.
2017 –Suspension of Wahidi
Based on an appeal by the Attorney General, on January 2, 2017, President Ashraf Ghani suspended Abul Razaq Wahidi on allegation of corruption. The Office of the President alleged Wahidi of embezzlement, an allegation he called baseless and politically motivated.
2018— First trial
On January 2, 2018, the Afghan government, under pressure by its international partners over fight against corruption, held a public court to trail Abdul Razaq Wahid on charges of embezzlement worth of $ 2,280,000, illegal appointment at the MCIT, and abuse of power. Wahidi was accused of having embezzled $ 228,000, an amount generated from the 10 percent tax on GSM subscribers. He was also accused of failure in installing Real Time Data Management Systems (RTDMS). In addition, prosecutor accused him of having hired over 20 employees on basis of nepotism. However, Mr. Wahidi rejected all charges, calling it ‘political conspiracy’.
On December 4, 2018, a special court declared Wahidi innocent. The court stated there were not substantiated evidence to prove allegation charged against Wahidi. Following court’s announcement, he was freed.
2019— Wahidi was imprisoned on new charges corruption
On April 8, 2019, Abul Razaq Wahidi, while teaching at Kabul University, was arrested by police. Following his arrest, Jamshid Rasooli, spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office, confirmed that Wahidi was arrested on the basis of a decision made by court. Later on April 9, a court sentenced him to three years in imprisonment on allegation of abuse of authority at the Ministry of Finance in 2011.
Abul Razaq Wahidi served 103 days in prison, and on July 21, 2019, the appeal court of the Anticorruption Criminal Justice Center acquitted him.
