Kabul: Death sentences for mob killing in which woman was beaten to death
An Afghan judge has convicted and sentenced to death four men for their role in the brutal mob killing of a woman falsely accused of burning the Koran in Kabul in March.
Judge Safiullah Mojadedi announced the sentences at Afghanistan’s Primary Court in the capital as part of a trial of 49 suspects, including 19 police officers.
Judge Mojadedi sentenced eight defendants to 16 years in prison and dropped charges against 18. The remaining suspects are to be sentenced on Sunday.
The March 19 killing of the 27-year-old woman named Farkhunda in a central Kabul street shocked many Afghans and led to a nationwide movement calling for justice.
Prosecutors alleged that Farkhunda was beaten to death in a frenzied attack sparked by a bogus accusation that she had burned a copy of the Koran.
Nineteen policemen who were accused of failing in their duty to prevent the attack are still waiting for the decision in their case, expected on Sunday.
