In a decision that is likely to land a serious blow to the hopes of a large number of women fighting cases of domestic and sexual violence in Afghanistan, an Appellate Court ordered the release of three members of a family who had been convicted and sentenced to ten years imprisonment by a lower court for torturing and attempting to murder child bride Sahar Gul, married into the family at the age of 14. Her husband has not been arrested by the police and is still at large.
Sahar was confined, starved and tortured in the most horrifying manner by her in-laws, after being forced into prostitution. The lower court sentenced the in-laws to 10 years before they were released by the appellate court. Sahar is now planning to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court.
Human rights activist Mohammed Ali Danish from Afghanistan has meticulously translated a piece on the life of Sahar Gul that came in BBC Persian. You can access the translated report here.
