The tragic case of Farkhunda’s mob-lynching

KABUL (SW): Farkhunda was tortured to death for alleged blasphemy by an angry mob one year ago near the Shah Do Shamshera Shrine in Kabul.

The brutal killing of this young woman was widely condemned within the country as well as abroad, and loud calls were made for justice in this regard. Wide scale protests by the civil society compelled the authorities to vividly pursue the case.

Responding to the growing public pressure, Kabul Police nabbed some 46 people blamed to be involved in the horrific act of violence. Back then, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) vowed to swiftly deal with this case and bring culprits to justice. 

But, a part form the thousand of sympathizers, the victim’s family too strongly criticized the police for the lack of action in preventing the dilemma from happening. Some even blamed the police for taking part in it.  Among the 46 individuals arrested included 19 employees of the Ministry of Interior (MoI), and 27 other civilians hence the men were put on trial in separate courts.

The government had constituted a commission that included members of the press as well, to overlook the development in this case. Khpalwak Safi, a member of this commission believes many of the perpetrators in Farkhunda’s case have managed to flee.

So far, 13 men have been convicted by the Supreme Court in this case. Three among the convicts were awarded 20 years imprisonment while the remaining 10 got 14 years imprisonment. Against the popular demand, no one was executed.

Critics compelled the President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani to direct the authorities to review the case.

At that time, Suraya Subhrang, a member of the Afghanistan Human Rights Commission (AHRC) criticized that justice has not been done in this case. Same was the view of the global rights’ body the Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Ironically, this has become a trend in the Afghan society that the civil society remains focused on certain issues that are often in line with the agenda given to them by the donor agencies. This trend disturbs the momentum in certain rights’ movements and makes them fruitless. Same can be seen in Farkhunda’s case when the momentum in the civil society dropped with the time.

ENDS