KABUL (SW): In the run-up to General Abdul Rashid Dostum’s return to the country, in a conversation with Salam Watandar, Ahmad Ishchi said that with Gen. Dostum’s return, his trial should be started.
Ishchi said that the government does not have the right to give General Dostum a free ticket and keep him off from the prosecution. He stressed that no group should negotiate with him on this matter without his presence.
According to Ahmad Ishchi, the government has not been able to prosecute Gen. Dostum in regards with Ahmad Ishchi’s case; however, he informed that he has also filed a complaint to the International Criminal Court.
He added that seven of the guards of the first vice president – Gen. Dostum, who had been involved in his sexual abuse case, have not yet been arrested either.
Musa Farid, a professor at Kabul University and an expert on legal issues said that Ahmad Ishchi’s allegation of sexual abuse by Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum is a judicial matter and no one has the right to nullify the case unless dismissed by the court.
Ishaq Atmar, an expert on political matters also said that Gen. Abdul Rashid’s case is a legal issue, not political, and even President Ashraf Ghani does not have the legal right to pardon him. According to Ishaq, only the claimant, which in this case is Ahmad Ishchi, has the right to withdraw from his case against the first vice president.
The Attorney General’s office and the Presidential Palace have not said anything about Ahmad Ishchi’s claim of sexual abuse against Gen. Dostum yet, but an anonymous source told Salam Watandar that President Ashraf Ghani has agreed with Abdul Rashid Dostum that his case will not be pursued.
Two years ago, Ahmad Ishchi, a former member of the Afghan National Movement Party, claimed that the first vice president, Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum and his guards have beaten him and sexually assaulted him in the Buzkushi ground after he refrained to kiss the first vice president’s hands and bow to him.
This issue led to many reactions by the national and international institutions and the government was pressurized to pursue this case against the first vice president, Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum. Shortly thereafter, rumors spread that the first vice president had been exiled to Turkey, but sources told Salam Watandar that the first vice president is expected to return to the country in a week.
ENDS
