Human rights groups strongly criticized and condemned the Afghanistan gang rape executions. Despite the criticisms of the legal process, five Afghan men have been hanged due to the brutal attack that had caused national outcry.
The Afghanistan gang rape executions raised major concerns where the accused were found guilty and sentenced at a nationally publicized trial, which attracted deafening demonstrations outside the court calling for death penalties. BBC News reported that officials said the men were hanged at Pul-e-Charkhi prison located at eastern Kabul. Another man was also convicted of unrelated crimes was also hanged.
The brutal gang rape attack took place at the night of August 23 at a famous picnic spot in Paghman district near Kabul. The victims were returning to the capital with their families from a wedding. The Guardian reported that the attackers wore police uniforms and stopped a convoy of cars. The armed gang tied up the men before raping at least four of the women and stealing the victims' valuables.
However, the legal process for Afghanistan's gang rape executions raised major concerns and criticisms from several human rights groups. Allegations have surfaced that the suspects confessed under torture and that then President Hamid Karzai have called for the men to be hanged even before the case was heard.
EU Ambassador in Kabul, Franz-Michael Skjold Mellbin had condemned the hangings and questioned new President Ashraf Ghani's failure to intervene. He even tweeted that the Afghanistan gang rape executions obscured the new Afghan administration's will to defend basic human rights.
UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights also expressed serious concerns that hanging the men would not convey justice to them or their victims. International rights groups also criticized the broadcasted trial that took only two hours. Amnesty International called the Afghanistan gang rape executions as an insult to justice. The organization said that the trial had been pressurized and gave attorneys little time to prepare the defense. Amnesty added that the trial had been stained by inconsistencies, uninvestigated torture claims and political interference.
Human Rights Watch's Phelim Kine also said that the awful due process violations in the Afghanistan gang rape executions have only aggravated the injustices of the appalling crime. The group also said that the case comprised an influenced lineup for identification and a trial with little substantiation.
The brutal gang rape attack sparked a movement of public protests, resounding response to recent comparable crimes in India, particularly the 2012 fatal attack on a student on a bus in New Delhi. Women's rights in Afghanistan have been the goal of the multibillion-dollar international development effort.
The strongly criticized Afghanistan gang rape executions echoed much greater concerns for justice. And the case's evident biases exhibited fears for more human rights violations and social integrity misconducts.
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