The family of former TOLOnews presenter Yama Siawash in a statement on Wednesday again warned they would lodge a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague in the Netherlands and at the United Nations against the Afghan government and the Central Bank of Afghanistan, where Siawash was working when he and two others were killed by a blast on November 7.

The deadline set by the family of Siawash--presented to the Afghan government last month in hopes of receiving information about the death of Siawash and two others--ended on Wednesday.

In the statement, Siawash’s family also raised concerns over what they described as "misleading evidence."

“Following (the govt's) negligence, creating irrelevant problems and spreading misleading information to trample the blood of Yama Siawash, we deserve the right to lodge a complaint with The Hague and the UN Security Council against the Afghan government and the Central Bank of Afghanistan because of the lack of responsibility shown by the responsible organs in the investigation of the murder of Yama Siawash,” a statement issued by Siawash’s family reads.

The Afghan First Vice President Amrullah Saleh meanwhile said that the government has not forgotten the case.

“This incident has not been forgotten, nothing is made out of media fuss,” Saleh wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

The family, in an open letter to President Ashraf Ghani, earlier threatened to approach the International World Court in The Hague if answers from Afghan security institutions were not forthcoming.

Siawash’s family has said that there are serious questions about why the government feels reluctant to share the outcome of the investigations about the explosion which blew up the vehicle of the Central Bank of Afghanistan carrying Siawash.

What is the impact on peace process of targeted killings?

 “I do think it’s an example of the kinds of events that can occur whether the Taliban is responsible or not that can create challenges in the peace process, because it means that there will be questions about their responsibility and there will be disputes over questions of responsibility that makes the environment for peace talks even more difficult,” said Laurel Miller, director of the International Crisis Group's Asia Program.

“The incidents shock the people of Afghanistan,” said Abdullah Abdullah, the head of High Council of National Reconciliation.

Daud Siawash, the father of Yama Siawash, in a Twitter post wrote that such lawsuits are being ridiculed by rulers hiding behind the concrete walls whose families and children have foreign passports and live abroad. 

“Sometimes they say illogical things---for instance, they (govt) say that a three-minute long CC footage was shared with the journalists while there is hours of footage there. So this creates doubts both among the family of Yama and the Afghan people about a possible involvement of those in the murder who have this footage in their custody,” said MP Ramazan Bashardost.

The bigger picture:

Documents seen by TOLOnews show that the National Directorate of Security and the Kabul’s office of the NDS have asked for information from the Central Bank about the incident on November 7 and Nov. 8 respectively, but a letter from an NDS directorate sent to the bank 10 days later indicates that the security agency was still waiting for information from the CCTV footage and GPS system of the bank during that time.

Siawash was newly employed as a media adviser at the Central Bank. He was killed in the attack with two of his colleagues. 

 “The government is in contradiction, no organ is prepared to respond,” said Khan Aqa Rezayee, a member of parliament.

 “Unfortunately, the responsible institutions have not provided any information or details of the incidents with our media colleagues,” said Shekib Mawlavizada, a journalist.

 “If such incidents are not thoroughly investigated, then more generations will be sacrificed,” said Palwasha Amini, a resident in Kabul.

 Siawash’s colleagues and members of the parliament have said that the Central Bank should provide the CCTV footage and other information to help identity the killers.

 But the Central Bank said that it has handed the GPS information and CCTV recordings to security agencies to probe this month’s attack on its employees, but security agencies are not providing details in this respect.

Main questions about the blast:

Where was the vehicle on which the bomb was placed a day before or hours before the explosion and how the bomb was placed on it?

• Where are the CCTV recordings that were installed in the Central Bank’s car parking?

• What does the GPS information show?

• Why isn’t the information shared with the media? Has the media demanded access to the confidential information of the Central Bank ?

“The government according to its commitments should be responsive to the media and let them check the cameras,” said Makhdom Ibdalullah Mohammadi, an MP. 

The Central Bank chairman Ajmal Ahmadi so far has not responded to the questions by the media, however, the bank in a statement said that CCTV footage and other things have been shared with the intelligence and security agencies. 

“The people should be informed about the issue, the initial information such as CCTV footage and the vehicle tracking device on Yama Siawash's car should be provided to the media,” said Shahnza Ghawsi, a member of parliament.

 “Any organ which operates against the law, they can be introduced to the legal and judicial institutions, because no authority can act against the law and they must be responsive,” said Khoshak Watandost, MP.