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2 Afghan soldiers sentenced to 10 years in jail

2 Afghan soldiers sentenced to 10 years in jail

author avatar
5 Feb 2015 - 19:32
2 Afghan soldiers sentenced to 10 years in jail
author avatar
5 Feb 2015 - 19:32

KANDAHAR CITY (Pajhwok): A primary court on Thursday sentenced two Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers to 10 years in prison in an attempted abduction case in southern Kandahar province.

The attorney told the court ANA service-members Ziaul Haq and Mohammad Yousaf had been planning to kidnap two Uruzgan Agriculture University students for ransom, but failed to do so after sharing their plan with a police officer.

Residents of eastern Laghman province, the pair from the 205th Atal Military Corps had attempted to kidnap Mashal and Abdul Ghafoor two months back in order to extract $100,000 in ransom from their families.

Their plan flopped after they tried to make the Dand district police commander, Gulalai, a partner in the abduction plan. Gulalai informed police about the intention of the two ANA officers, who were then arrested.

Gulalai told the court Haq and Yousaf were stationed in Dand district when they orchestrated the kidnapping plan. He claimed the two soldiers offered him share in the ransom money. 

But Haq rejected the allegation as a conspiracy against him, saying commander Gulalai took him to his check post and handcuffed him there. 

Mashal, one of the students, said: “Ziaul Haq is my cousin. He telephoned me two months ago and offered me to go on an excursion with him. We went to the Baba Wali Shrine in Arghandab district, where Abdul Ghafoor was already there.”

They left the shrine for Dand district, where the kidnapping plan was supposed to be implemented, but Commander Gulalai arrested Haq and Ghafoor, foiling their plan, he said.

Judge Abdul Halim Muslim, after hearing arguments from both the sides, sentenced the two ANA officials to 10 years each in prison under the criminal law. However, he ruled the decision was not final and could be challenged in a higher court.

nh/ma

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