BREAKING NEWS

Afghan rape victim freed, two weeks after pardon

By REUTERS

DECEMBER 14, 2011 18:56

KABUL - An Afghan woman who was jailed for "forced adultery" after a relative raped her, then pardoned following an international outcry over the case, has been released nearly two weeks after a judicial panel said she could go free, her lawyer said on Wednesday.

"She was released last night," said lawyer Kimberley Motley. "She's happy that she's in a safer place."

Sex outside marriage - even in cases of rape - is one of several "moral crimes" for which women are imprisoned in Afghanistan. Others include running away from an abusive husband or a forced marriage.

Gulnaz, now 21, was attacked by her cousin's husband in 2009 and then given a two-year sentence for "adultery by force". She gave birth to a daughter behind bars.

Her jail term was raised to 12 years on appeal, but she was told she would be freed if she agreed to marry her attacker.

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