Afghan judge sentences four to death for mob killing of woman

An Afghan judge sentenced four men to death on Wednesday for the mob killing of 27-year-old woman accused of burning a Koran in Kabul, a case that sparked outrage and street protests in the city. The four were among 49 defendants, 19 of them police officers, on trial in connection with the killing. The sentencing was continuing on Wednesday as the judge read out the long list of charges and verdicts. A frenzied crowd beat and kicked the woman, named Farkhunda, to death on March 19 and set her body on fire as several police looked on near a shrine in central Kabul.

This is not your dead body. Farkhunda belongs to all of the women of Kabul, of Afghanistan. Her body belongs to all Afghan mothers.

Frozan Marofi, Afghan human rights activist

The attack was captured by mobile phone video and distributed online. Some of those arrested were tracked down after bragging about participating on social media. The broad-daylight attack proved a polarizing incident in conservative Muslim country. Some defending the killing as a defense of Islam, but many others were outraged at the viciousness of the attack even before an investigation showed that Farkhunda had been falsely accused of desecrating the holy book. It is the first time since the Taliban were ousted in 2001 that a popular movement has mobilized in support of a woman.

Middle East Afghan