WASHINGTON: Amnesty International urged Afghan authorities on Wednesday to probe the stoning of an Afghan teenage girl last week and punish those responsible.
“Amnesty International is abhorred by the news of the stoning of the 19-year-old girl Rokhsahana in Firoz Koh district of Ghour province in Central Afghanistan,” said a statement sent to media offices in Washington.
“Such a barbaric, inhuman and cruel punishment and should not be practiced in any circumstance,” it added.
Amnesty official Horia Mosadiq urged authorities to back up the promise of an investigation with concrete action and hold those responsible to account.
“This is another vivid reminder of the plight still facing far too many women across Afghanistan, particularly in Taliban-controlled areas,” she said.
In a report from Afghanistan, CNN said that Rokhsahana was forced into a hole dug into the ground while 10 men surrounded her.
Read: Graphic video shows Afghan woman stoned to death for eloping
“Only her head poked above the surface” when all 10 men started hurling rocks at her, “again and again from close range.”
Her agonised cries grow louder as the barrage of stones intensified.
A video of it, apparently filmed on a cell phone and circulated on social media, showed her crying for help but nobody rescued her.
Also read: Woman ‘stoned’ to death
Seema Joyenda, the governor of Ghor province, told CNN that Rokhsahana had been forced to marry against her will and recently fled with another man. The couple was caught after two days, and the Taliban leader of the village ordered that Rokhsahana be stoned to death for adultery.
Joyenda, one of two female governors in Afghanistan, told CNN she cried as she watched the video of Rokhsahana's killing. "It was really inhumane," she said.
The governor said she has asked President Ashraf Ghani for reinforcements to help retake places like Aurdak, which are still under Taliban’s control.
In April, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan issued a report, saying that the “prevalence of violence against women and harmful practices continues to be of serious concern.”
Amnesty International also issued a similar report earlier this year, highlighting the persecution of women's rights activists, not only by the Taliban and tribal warlords, but also by government officials.
Related: Parents of young woman stoned to death await justice
