NH, VT Supreme Courts Welcome Judges Evacuated From Afghanistan To US

NEW HAMPSHIRE — New Hampshire is one of two states whose Supreme Court brought two distinguished women judges evacuated from Afghanistan to the United States.

The Supreme Courts of New Hampshire and Vermont on Thursday formally welcomed Judge Anisa Rasooli and Judge Geeti Roeen, who were both resettled after evacuating from their home country with their families and will now serve as visiting scholars at Dartmouth College, according to officials.

The ceremony took place before more than 400 students at Hanover High School, the New Hampshire Judicial Branch said in a news release.

Both judges were forced to flee Afghanistan with their families under the threat of death after the Taliban retook control of the country in Aug. 2021, according to officials.

The International Association of Women Judges helped both judges resettle in the United States as refugees and evacuate scores of other women judges from Afghanistan, officials said.

One association member, Retired Vermont Judge Patricia Whalen, got to know Rasooli and Roeen through legal educational training seminars she provided for women judges from Afghanistan, according to officials.

"When it was clear that both women judges and their families were in danger following the Taliban retaking control of Afghanistan, Judge Whalen worked with colleagues in the IAWJ ... who provided critical assistance in evacuating both Judge Rasooli and Judge Roeen and resettle them in New Hampshire and Vermont," officials said in the news release.

Rasooli and her family were evacuated with the assistance of Polish special forces and lived for nearly two years in Poland as their resettlement was processed by federal authorities, officials said. In 2023, they were resettled to Vermont.

Roeen and her family were evacuated to a refugee camp in the United Arab Emirates, where they lived for nearly two years before being resettled to Manchester, according to officials.

Rasooli was previously a senior member of the Afghan judiciary. Most recently, she served as an advisor to the Supreme Court of Afghanistan on the treatment of nonviolent offenders. She was appointed to the Afghan Supreme Court — the first and only woman to be a nominee to Afghanistan’s highest court — but Kabul fell before the National Assembly could act on her nomination.

She also led the anti-corruption division of the Kabul Appellate Court, presided over the Court for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and served as president of the Kabul Juvenile Court and Juvenile Appellate Court.

Meanwhile, Roeen first became a judge in 2009 with a general jurisdiction of civil and criminal cases.

She was promoted to the appellate level in 2017, where she heard cases involving domestic violence, forced marriage, sexual assault, kidnapping, drug smuggling, and child sexual abuse.

Also participating in the ceremony were New Hampshire U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Vermont U.S. Representative Rebecca Balint, who, along with their staff, provided "vital assistance in facilitating the resettlement of the judges," officials said.

"Despite the challenges in Afghanistan, today is a celebration of Justice Rasooli and Judge Roeen," New Hampshire US Senator Jeanne Shaheen said Thursday. "We are so excited to have them in Vermont and New Hampshire ... The life stories of Judge Rasooli and Judge Roeen include courage, perseverance, and resilience, and they are an inspiration to us all."

Speaking through an interpreter, Roeen said, in part, "I am overwhelmed to see this welcoming and see everyone here supporting us, it has brought tears of hope and happiness into my eyes."