By Shadi Khan Saif
KABUL
An Afghan court has sentenced four men to death on Wednesday for the brutal murder of a woman falsely accused of burning a copy of the Quran.
The men shocked the Afghan public when they killed 27-year old Farkhunda in March, burning her body and dragging it into the streets of the capital Kabul.
The Kabul primary court on Wednesday also awarded 16-year prison terms to eight other men. The court took only four days to reach its conclusion on the high-profile case. The convicts have the right to appeal against the ruling.
Another 18 men have been freed due to lack of evidence while security forces have been ordered to find and arrest three others.
In the coming days, a ruling will be issued on the role of 19 policemen accused of negligence.
Mohammad Nader, Farkhunda’s father, told journalists that he wanted her murderers to be made an example of, to deter any future attacks.
Farkhunda's mother told media in March that her daughter was well-versed in Islamic studies and had angered a spiritual religious leader, who then claimed she had burnt a Quran.
Farkhunda had admonished the "Mullah" for his practice of charging people for personalized prayers, written in amulets, which he claimed helped them overcome personal problems.
Breaking with Afghan society's conservative tradition female activists took to the streets to protest against the murder and also, during her funeral, carried her body to its burial place.
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