Farkhunda, religious teacher, was killed by angry men after an argument with a cleric
Kabul : Eleven Afghan policemen were on Tuesday sentenced to a year in prison for recklessness in protecting a woman who was lynched by a mob after being accused of blasphemy.
The primary court in Kabul sentenced 11 policemen to one year in jail, Khaama press reported.
Earlier, 49 people, including 19 policemen, were arrested but some of them were set free for lack of evidence. On May 6, four civilians were sentenced to death and eight others sent to jail for 16 years after the court found them guilty of lynching the woman.
Farkhunda, a 27-year-old religious teacher, was killed by a crowd of angry men in Kabul after an argument with a cleric whom she scolded for selling charms in the street, a practice some regard as un-Islamic.
The cleric retorted by claiming Farkhunda had burned the Qur’an, after which a mob set upon her, beat her to death, dragged her body behind a car and burned it on the riverbanks in the city centre.
Following a landmark fast track trial, it was proven that Farkhunda did not indulge in any desecration to the Quran and the allegation was made against her by a person who was selling charms in the shrine as she spoke out against his superstitious practices.
