11 Afghan cops get jail term over mob killing of woman
An Afghan court has sentenced 11 policemen to one year in jail for failing to protect a woman who was lynched after being falsely accused of burning a copy of the Holy Qur’an.
"You are sentenced... for negligence of duty to one year in prison," Judge Safiullah Mojaddidi told the 11 defendants, including senior officers, who were found guilty of dereliction of duty in connection with the mob killing of the 27-year-old woman identified as Farkhunda.
The verdict is not final and the defendants have the right to appeal, the judge added.
Eight other policemen were found not guilty in the case and were released for lack of evidence.
The policemen were among the 49 people arrested over the mob killing of Farkhunda, who was brutally beaten to death and her body set ablaze in broad daylight on March 19, after she was falsely accused of blasphemy.
An Afghan presidential investigation into the case later found that the woman had not damaged a copy of the Qur’an.
Earlier this month, four men were sentenced to death and eight others to 16 years in prison over the same case, while 18 others were freed for lack of evidence, which triggered angry outcries in Afghanistan and around the world.
In a report released in April, Amnesty International warned about escalating violence, including threats, sexual assaults and assassinations facing female Afghan activists.
The London-based human rights organization also lashed out at the international community for failing to protect women’s rights.
Amnesty said it had found “a consistent pattern of authorities ignoring or refusing to take seriously threats against women.”
AR/GHN
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