Kimberley Motley

Motley began practicing in 2003 as a Wisconsin public defender. In Milwaukee, she represented people facing felony, misdemeanor and juvenile proceedings. She arrived in Afghanistan in 2008 through a State Department-funded program to train and mentor defense lawyers, then opened her own practice there in 2009.

She visited court hearings and prisons to learn how defendants were treated. At Pul-e Charki, two English-speaking prisoners asked her to read letters describing proceedings without witnesses, legal representation or an interpreter. She investigated their legal protections and began representing clients herself.

As a child in Milwaukee, Motley had often spoken for her Korean immigrant mother, who was uncomfortable speaking English. In Afghanistan, she worked with interpreters, observed local proceedings and studied Islamic law. When preparing arguments, she considered the judges’ religious and cultural understanding alongside the written rules.

Gulnaz’s Sentence

Gulnaz reported that she had been raped by her cousin’s husband. Afghan authorities prosecuted her for a so-called moral offense. She later gave birth to a daughter while imprisoned at Badam Bagh.

Her sentence increased from two years to twelve on appeal, then fell to three after further review. She remained in custody for conduct arising from the assault she had reported.

Motley represented her during the campaign for clemency and release. Marriage to the accused man was repeatedly proposed as a route to freedom or social acceptance. Motley pursued a pardon that would allow Gulnaz to leave prison without making that marriage a legal condition.

Unconditional Clemency

By late 2011, Gulnaz’s imprisonment had attracted international attention. Gulnaz and her mother, Afghan lawyers and officials, human-rights advocates, journalists, documentary makers and international institutions participated in the campaign. Motley explained the changing sentences and pressed the distinction between release and the marriage others proposed.

The presidential release order ultimately carried no marriage requirement. Motley could demand its execution regardless of Gulnaz’s later personal decisions. Family and social pressure continued, but officials responsible for custody had an unconditional order to carry out.

European institutions later cited Gulnaz’s pardon and release while noting continuing marriage pressure. United Nations treaty bodies separately criticized moral-crimes prosecutions and the charging of rape victims with zina.

The Twelve-Day Wait

The presidential palace announced clemency on December 1, 2011. Gulnaz remained confined with her daughter while the decree passed through the offices responsible for authorizing her departure.

Motley continued asking why the order had not been carried out and resisting marriage as an unofficial prerequisite. On December 13, Gulnaz left prison. “She’s happy that she’s in a safer place,” Motley said after the release.

The pardon ended her custody through presidential authority. It left the law governing other moral-offense prosecutions in place.

Across Legal Systems

The clemency and appeal proceedings in Gulnaz’s case took place under Afghanistan’s earlier legal order. On April 10, 2026, United Nations special-procedure experts sought clarification from the Taliban authorities about new criminal rules that made no provision for lawyers, prosecutors, appeals or judicial review. The experts also raised concerns about protections for accused persons, judicial independence and equality.

Motley founded Motley Legal Services and The Justness Project. Her international practice has included criminal, civil, commercial, employment and human-rights matters. Visiting detained clients, learning the rules available to them and pursuing officials responsible for implementing relief became part of that work.

“Laws are just words on a piece of paper,” Motley said. “It’s up to us to bring them to life.”