Britain shocked by Afghan execution video

UK: British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Sunday said he was “shocked and disgusted” by reports that the Taliban publicly executed an Afghan woman accused of adultery.

The British government condemned the “deplorable” action and called upon Afghanistan's rulers to bring the perpetrators to justice.

“I am shocked and disgusted by [the] reports,” said Hague in a statement. “Such deplorable actions underline the vital need for better protection of the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.” The foreign minister explained that the British government was working with its Afghan counterparts, NGOs and international partners to improve the status of women in Afghanistan.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier made a powerful plea for the rights of women in the war-ravaged nation after a horrific video emerged showing the public execution of the 22-year-old woman. In the video, a woman named as Najiba is shot repeatedly in the back in front of a crowd of men in Qol village in Parwan province just north of the capital Kabul.

The woman was married to a member of a hardline Taliban militant group and was accused of adultery with a Taliban commander, Parwan provincial spokeswoman Roshna Khalid told AFP Sunday. “Within one hour they decided that she was guilty and sentenced her to death.

AFP