Update | Thousands in Afghanistan demand justice for woman beaten to death by mob 'as police watched'
18 people arrested for murder of woman falsely accused of burning Koran
Thousands marched through the Afghan capital yesterday, demanding justice for a woman who was beaten to death by a mob after being falsely accused of burning a Koran.
Men and women of all ages carried banners bearing the bloodied face of Farkhunda, a 27-year-old religious scholar killed last week by the mob.
Organisers of Tuesday’s march, the second protest over the brutal slaying in as many days, estimated that up to 3,000 people took part, calling it one of the biggest demonstrations in Kabul’s history. Marchers chanted “Justice for Farkhunda!” and “Death to the killers!”
The killing has also drawn condemnation from Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani, now in Washington on his first state visit to the US since taking office in September, who denounced it as a "heinous attack" and ordered an investigation.
On Thursday, a mob of men beat Farkhunda to death, threw her body off a roof, ran over it with a car, set it on fire and at the end, threw it into the Kabul River near one of the Afghan capital's most renowned mosques, the Shah Doshamshera, while several police looked on.
The attack was captured by cellphone cameras and has been widely distributed on social media.