Seven suspects arrested over beating of Afghan woman
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 5 February 2018 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Seven suspects arrested over beating of Afghan woman, 5 February 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a9fc77c3.html [accessed 22 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
February 05, 2018 09:22 GMT
RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan
Afghan officials say seven men have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the beating of a woman since a video of the incident appeared on social media last week.
The men are relatives of the victim, a spokesman for the governor of Takhar province told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan on February 5.
The beating reportedly occurred in December in a remote village in the Chah Aab district of the northeastern province.
The video shows a woman clad in a blue burqa kneeling as she is shouted at and insulted by a crowd of men that is said to have included family members.
As she kneels, she receives heavy blows to her head, back, arms, and shoulders by several, stick-wielding men.
"The men [who were arrested] are relatives of the woman, who is now in a safe house in the center of the province," the regional governor's spokesman Sunatullah Temor said.
Witnesses have claimed that the 22-year-old woman was being punished on the orders of local clerics who had decided she was guilty of having an extramarital affair while her husband was away in Iran.
The woman's ordeal is not uncommon in Afghanistan. In recent years there have been several reports of women facing public punishment for alleged moral crimes.
The most prominent was the violent death of 27-year-old Farkhunda Malikzada, who was beaten to death by a mob in Kabul after being falsely accused of burning a copy of the Koran.
Her death in March 2015 prompted a national outcry and an outpouring of anger in the country.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
