Afghanistan Times
Related Articles
By Farhad Naibkhel-KABUL: A cluster of civil rights groups on Tuesday asked the government for exemplary punishment to all those who were involved in killing of Farkhunda.
Farkhunda, who was wrongly accused of burning the Holy Quran in Shah-e-Do Shamshira Shrine, was lynched two weeks ago in the area by a mob and burnt after brutally killed.
Mawlana Mohammad Abdullah, a rights activist, said that Farkhunda’s killing case had to be pursued transparently.
Speaking at a press conference here, he said the government should bring all the killers to the court of justice and prosecute the case without any discrimination or favoritism.
He said that relevant judicial body, fact finding commission and the government should assess reasons and share all information with public. “The government shall also provide security to Farkhunda’s family,” he said.
The rights groups released a resolution on the occasion, condemning illegal acts.
They termed lynching as punishment an illegal act and against teachings of Islam. The resolution reads, “The government must prevent such incidents. We want fair trial of all those who committed negligence in their duties and were present at the spot of incident.”
The activists said the government and parliament should avoid spontaneous Fetwa (declaration) and prevent groups from misusing the religion and creating anarchy in the society. They said that such illegal activities would provide an opportunity to the anti-state elements to destabilize the country.
Appreciating the religion scholars and the ministry of Hajj and religious affairs for their role in Farkhunda’s case, they said the government should put ban on activities of the soothsayers and those who are using Islam for their own personal gains.
In the resolution they said: “As we condemn any illegal act in the name of religion, similarly, we seriously denounce any blasphemous act.”
Meanwhile, member of the fact finding commission on Farkhunda’s killing case, Shahla Farid, said the findings showed that Farkhunda was innocent and made a scapegoat by the opportunities.
She said that provoking of the passersby led to lynching of Farkhunda by the mob.
Shahla added that police at the spot also failed to act professionally and prevent people from killing the innocent girl. “The lynching was not preplanned but it happened all of sudden in the area. Till date, 28 people have been arrested and their dossiers have been sent to the Attorney General Office,” she said.
The arrested persons are mostly uneducated or less literate. Ministry of Interior said that all those policemen who were present at the site were fired for not preventing people from killing the 27-year old girl.
