49 Afghan men tried for brutal murder of Afghan woman

Death was caught on camera, four men sentenced to death

The aftermath of a brutal mob killing in Afghanistan has seen four men convicted of murder and sentenced to death and another eight sentenced to 16 years in prison, out of 49 men accused of being part of the killing.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Of these 49, 18 men were released and the remaining sentences will be issued on this Sunday, the result of a brutal attack on an Afghan woman in Kabul that resulted in her death, and sparked massive outrage throughout Afghanistan.

The woman who was killed was 27-year-old Farkhunda, a religious scholar. On March 19 she was attacked by a mob of Afghan men, thrown from a roof, ran over by a car and tossed into the Kabul River. Then she was burned alive.

Her attack was filmed by numerous cellphones, and generating massive outrage after these films were distributed online.

During Farkhunda's funeral, women's rights activists defied long standing tradition and carried her coffin.

Farkhunda's family spoke about the verdicts, disappointed that so much of the mob has apparently managed to escape justice.

"On behalf of the family, we are not satisfied with the court ruling today," Farkhunda's brother, Mujibullah said. "There were several others who were part of the group that killed Farkhunda, but they have not been arrested, they are being protected by powerful people."

It was origonally reported that Farkhunda was killed for burning copies of the Quran, the Islamic holy book, but Mohammad Zahir of the Interior Ministry's criminal investigation directorate, said that there was no evidence to support this claim.

This trial is not only important for women in Afghanistan, but the average citizen who will be eager to see if the notoriously corrupt legal system will punish those guilty of this heinous crime.

One Kabul resident, bakery owner Mohammad Folad, said he was pleased with the judge's decision.

"Those who committed this crime should have been punished and I am glad it is happening," he said. "After this, anyone who dares to harm anybody under any name will think [twice]."

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