Taliban Military Court Acquits Group’s Senior Official of Charges of Illicit Relations
According to a document from the Taliban’s Supreme Court, the group's military court has cleared Mullah Ahmad, the director of the Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) in Kabul of allegations of "inappropriate relations with his bodyguard”.
As per the document, the court has "reviewed" the video clip showing Mullah Ahmad allegedly "sharing a bed" with his bodyguard and labeled it as "fabricated".
A copy of an official letter of the Taliban which has been reviewed by Afghanistan International, reveals that Mullah Hassan Akhund, the group’s Prime Minister, sent the issue of illicit relation of Mullah Ahmad with his bodyguard to the Kabul Military Court for investigation on September 9.
In response to the letter of the Taliban’s Prime Minister, Mawlawi Abdul Ghafar Rahmani, the group’s head of the military court, on September 17 wrote, "After investigation, it has been confirmed that the video clip circulated on social media, intended to defame Mullah Ahmad and it has been verified as fake and untrue. Consequently, Mullah Ahmad has been acquitted of all charges”.
The Taliban’s military court did not provide any explanation regarding how it was recognised as a "fake" video clip.
The video clip of Mullah Ahmad’s illicit relationship with his bodyguard had been received by Afghanistan International and published on August 18.
The videotape shows a room with a bed. In the video, Mullah Ahmad takes off his clothes and shares a bed with a young man, who is said to be his bodyguard.
On August 22, three days after the broadcast of the video clip, the Taliban leadership summoned Mullah Ahmad Akhund to Kandahar province.
In a letter from DABS, a copy of which received by Afghanistan International, it was mentioned that Mullah Ahmad's visit of Kandahar was "family problems", while sources said he had been "summoned" by the Taliban leadership.
Now, a month after the publication of the video clip, new dimensions of the story have been published.
Subsequent to the release of this video, Mullah Ahmad has filed a complaint against his two bodyguards.
In a letter announcing the acquittal of Mullah Ahmad, the Taliban’s military court in Kabul asked him to "reconcile" with his bodyguards and "forgive" them.
It is not clear what was the reason behind Ahmad’s complaint against his bodyguards.
The Taliban’s military court has acquitted this senior official of the group, while the group has punished Afghan citizens with allegations of extramarital sexual relations.
The Supreme Court of the Taliban announced last month that the group's courts have issued 175 sentences of Qisas, which translates as retaliation in kind - effectively an eye for an eye; 37 sentences of stoning and four sentences of burying the convicts under rubble.