KABUL - The trial began Saturday of 49 people charged in connection with the brutal mob lynching of an Afghan woman in Kabul in March, a killing that triggered protests around the country.
The first day of the trial at Afghanistan's Primary Court in Kabul saw the suspects – among them 19 police officers – facing various charges including assault, murder and encouraging others to participate in the attack. The police officers stand accused of neglecting their duties and failing to prevent the attack on 27-year-old Farkhunda.
The mob turned on Farkhunda on March 19, beating her in broad daylight and setting her body ablaze on the banks of the Kabul River, after an amulet seller, whom she had reportedly castigated, falsely accused her of burning a copy of the Holy Quran.
The killing triggered days of protests around Afghanistan and several world cities and drew global attention to the treatment of Afghan women, while her funeral procession saw female pallbearers bucking tradition to carry her casket.
At Saturday's session – which was broadcast live on television – the head of the primary court ordered the arrest of another police officer in connection with the case. He also called on Kabul's police chief and other senior officials to attend the next court session.
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. One of the men on trial Saturday, identified only as Sharifullah, described his role in the attack. "I kicked her once or twice but did not participate in the whole thing," he testified. "Others were asking for a match box, so I gave them my lighter."
Several protests against violence against women sprung up in Kabul, including one in the last week that re-enacted the attack. It is the first time since the Taliban were ousted in 2001 that a popular movement has mobilised in support of a woman. Under the Taliban regime, women were banned from leaving home without a male guardian, denied education and forced to wear the all-covering burqa.
Women's rights were enshrined in Afghanistan's constitution after the Taliban were ousted by a US-backed military intervention, but the majority of society remains deeply conservative. While the demonstrations against Farkhunda's killing were unusual, protests against insulting Islam are more common.
In 2012, several people were killed in protests across the country after charred copies of the Muslim holy book were found on a military base near Kabul. US President Barack Obama apologised for the incident at the time. Two people died in Kabul in January during protests against Charlie Hebdo's cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), following the killings of staff of the satirical weekly at its offices in Paris by Islamist gunmen.