Ranjbar urges Karzai to intervene into his case

KABUL (PAN): A former lawmaker, Abdul Kabir Ranjbar, who faces charges of rape and abducting a young girl, on Sunday urged President Karzai to intervene into his case and ensure a fair trial for him.

Ranjbar was arrested by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) last week and was released after spending 24 hours in a detention facility at the AGO.

Deputy attorney general Rahmatullah Nazari has said the former Wolesi Jirga member had been arrested on the charge of rapping a girl in abduction.

“If I am guilty then why I was released and if not guilt then why I was arrested and put behind the bars,” Ranjbar asked during a press conference in Kabul after his release.

The politician insisted he had married the girl, rejecting the charges by saying he had not kidnapped or rapped anyone. He claimed the Attorney General Office had violated article 25 of the constitution that considers an accused innocent until convicted by a court.

But the girl, Spogmai said Ranjbar raped her while he was drunk before their marriage. “Ranjbar has to plead guilty. First of all, I want him punished for raping me and the right of a wife according to Islam’s rules,” she said in interview with Pajhwok Afghan News.

She also accused the AGO of using “inappropriate” words against her, asking the office for apology to her and people of Deh Sabz district for committing insult to her.

Ranjbar told the press conference that Spogmai, daughter of Mahir, a resident of Tarakhel area of Kabul, had run away from her house.

She asked Ranjbar for help as a human rights activist on Jan. 17, introducing her as “Diwa” from Laghman, the politician said, adding he took the girl to a women’s shelter house and later she started living with another woman named as Ogai Amel elsewhere.

He claimed Spogmai had repeatedly proposed him and had several times tried to commit suicide on his refusal to marry her. “So finally I have to marry her to save her life,” Ranjbar said, showing copies of a Nikah Nama (marriage document).

Ranjbar said he did not seek police help fearing the matter could expose to the media. “When Spogmai revealed her real name, her father’s name and address after our marriage, I sent her to her father’s house on Eid-ul-Adha day last year,” he said.

He said Spogmai was till in her father’s house because her father wanted $200,000 from him to arrange a formal wedding party.

However, Spogmai’s father, Mahir said he had asked Ranbar for organising a simple wedding party after they had legally tied the knot. He called for punishment for those encouraging her daughter to elope from house.

He said Ranjbar was involved in her daughter’s runaway and now refusing to accept his demands.

About his arrest, Ranjbar said the AGO had committed a crime by arresting him without any legal notice. He said the AGO did not produce  any evidence or arrest warrant for his arrest.

Later, a group of journalists went to the office of deputy attorney general, Rahmatullah Nazari, who refused to talk with reporters, citing  his busy schedule. However, later Nazari told Pajhwok over the telephone that he would provide information to the media on Tuesday.

Ranjbar urged President Karzai to investigate his case through a commission and make the findings public.

The 22-years old, Spogmai, currently lives in her father’s house in Tarakhel area of Deh Sabz district. She said Ranjbar was her husband and that she would not seek divorce from him and would never abandon him.

About restarting his life with Spogmai, Ranjbar did not allow media representative to ask him that question, saying it was his personal matter.

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