KOKCHIAL, Afghanistan, July 31 (UPI) -- A Muslim religious leader in Afghanistan was arrested after he declared a pronouncement of death for a girl later publicly executed.
A fatwa, or death penalty, was issued by Abdul Ghafoor, a mullah or imam of the Muslim faith, in April against an Afghan girl named Halmia, who was later executed on adultery charges in the village of Kokchial, Badghis provincial security chief Sharafuddin Sharfa said.
Sharfa called the fatwa un-Islamic and against the principles of humanity, the Afghan news agency Khama Press said Wednesday.
"This was an illegal act since the woman should be tried for her crimes under Sharia law," he said, adding the imam was arrested because there was no evidence to prove the girl guilty.
