Boy molested; 3 alleged rapists held

SHIBERGHAN (PAN): Police on Sunday detained three people in connection with the molestation of a teenage boy on the outskirts of Shiberghan, the capital of the northern Jawzjan province.

Provincial police chief, Col. Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani, told Pajhwok Afghan News the 14 year-old had been abused by four of his friends. The rapists also made a video on their mobile phones, he added.

The incident took place two days back, according to the police chief, who said that the main culprit was still at large and police were conducting raids to arrest him.

Dr. Mohammad Haroon, the provincial hospital director, said medical reports indicated the boy had been sexually abused.

Maulvi Wali Mohammad Shabani, a religious scholar, said those committing the heinous crime should be punished under Islamic law.

Maghfirat Samimi, head of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission for Jawzjan, Sar-i-Pul and Faryab provinces, expressed her concern over child molestation cases being ignored by the judiciary.

rm/mud