SHE was beaten to death, burned and thrown in a river by an angry mob for burning a copy of Islam’s holiest book.
But the woman from Afghanistan known was Farkhunda was actually innocent all along and never committed any such offence.
As the number of arrests soar into her brutal death, which was captured on mobile phone and beamed across the world’s media, a sad picture is emerging of the woman whose innocent life was taken away.
Reports have also emerged of a woman with a psychological disability.
Her own parents revealed their daughter had suffered with a mental health condition for several years. They also said she was a religious scholar who would never burn such a holy book.
THE BRUTAL CRIME:
Last Thursday, the world reeled in horror after a mob of men beat the 27-year-old religious scholar to death.
They then threw her body off a roof, ran over it with a car, set it on fire and at the end, dragged 300m, threw it into the Kabul River near one of the Afghan capital’s most renowned mosques, the Shah Doshamshera.
The attack was captured by cameras and has been widely distributed on social media.
WHAT HAPPENED:
Farkhunda reportedly got into an argument with aa fortune teller at a small shrine next to the mosque.
The fortune teller accused her of burning the Koran, policeman Habid Shah said.
“She said, ‘I am a Muslim and Muslims do not burn the Koran,"’ Shah, who has not been suspended, told The Associated Press.
“As more people gathered, the police were trying to push them away, but it got out of control.”
“The people pulled her into a corner of the yard and beat her with sticks, and one man took a large stone and dropped it on her. That was the end.”
Her father, Mohammed Nadir, told CNN affiliate TOLOnews there was no way his daughter would ever burn pages of the Koran and she was innocent.
THE INVESTIGATION:
Kabul’s police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi said 18 people had been arrested and all had confessed to their role in Farkhunda’s death.
However the number of arrests has now risen to 26 as the investigation grows, according to CNN.
“We have enough evidence” against the suspects, he announced at a press conference as 18 of the men were brought out before the media.
He said 13 policemen based in the area of the mosque had been suspended amid allegations they stood by and did nothing to stop the attack, and another four were under investigation.
One of the policemen who witnessed the attack, Sayed Habid Shah, said they were overwhelmed by the size of the crowd, which grew throughout the assault.
‘SHE WAS INNOCENT’:
Afghanistan’s most senior detective said no evidence had been found to support the claims that Farkhunda burned the Koran.
The attack appeared to have grown out of a dispute between Farkhunda, a veiled woman who had just finished a degree in religious studies and was preparing to take a teaching post, and men who sold amulets at Shah-Do Shamshera shrine, where the killing happened.
She regarded the amulet sellers as parasites and told women not to waste their money on them, friends and family said. Her father said the men responded by making false accusations that she had torched a Koran.
“Based on their lies, people decided Farkhunda was not a Muslim and beat her to death,” he said. The Interior Ministry said it was providing extra protection for the family.
THE WORLD REACTS:
Hundreds marched yesterday in the Afghan capital, demanding justice over the vicious killing that shocked many across the country.
It also renewed calls for authorities to ensure women’s rights to equality and protection from violence.
The killing drew condemnation from Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani, now in Washington on his first state visit to the United States since taking office in September, who denounced it as a “heinous attack” and ordered an investigation.
Human rights groups called on the Afghan government to investigate the failure of police in Kabul to prevent the violent attack taking place.
Senior Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch Patricia Gossman said police had failed in their job.
“The brutal murder of a vulnerable woman by a mob on Kabul’s streets might have been stopped if the police had done their job,” she said.
“The authorities need to prosecute those involved in this terrible crime and take action against any police officers who let the mob have its way.”
Human Rights Watch said authorities should not only prosecute those responsible for the killing, but also discipline or prosecute as appropriate police who failed to intervene and officials who have made statements justifying the murder.
SOCIAL MEDIA REACTION:
The brutal killing prompted a wave of support and revulsion across social media.
People on Twitter were shocked by the brutal attack and called for an end to violence against women.
Meanwhile a Facebook page, Justice for Forkhunda, has already been set up calling for justice for the young woman.
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