5 alleged rapists detained in Daikundi

BAMYAN CITY (PAN): Five employees of the women‘s affairs department were arrested on Thursday on the charge of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in the central province of Daikundi, an official said.

The arrests came after the victim, Muzhgan, accused the men of sexually harassing her, the prosecutor office head, Ahmad Yar, told Pajhwok Afghan News. However, he stopped short of giving details, pending an investigation into the case.

But the department director, Habiba Shujayee, spurned the charges against the officials as baseless, insisting they had visited the prosecutor’s office to file a law suit against the girl for damaging their reputation.

She said Muzhgan, who belongs to a village in Sang Takht district, had been sentenced to two years in jail by a court for having sexual ties with two men, who had also been sentenced to imprisonment in the case.

The girl was delivered to the women’s affairs department two days ago for overnight stay at its juvenile training centre before being shifted to a shelter house in Kabul.

Shujaee said the girl accused the officials next morning of raping her. The accused include a finance manager, two security guards and as many policemen. “The allegations are aimed at denigrating the department.”

But the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) chief for Daikundi, Jawad Dadgar, said a medical examination revealed the girl had been raped. He promised they would seriously track the case to find facts.

Deputy police chief Col. Mohammad Asif said security guards at the women’s affairs department were not members of the force.  He said the girl had accused only one person of raping her.

mm/ma/mud