Afghan ‘mullah’ faces stoning death over sex tapes scandal

MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan: A self-proclaimed mullah in Afghanistan, who allegedly filmed himself having sex with women, is on the run after the videos went viral on social media, prompting religious leaders to order his death by stoning.

Mullah Rasool, a traditional healer who wrote amulets for clients in a village in the northwestern province of Faryab, is accused of sexually exploiting and raping several women who had gone to him for help.

Rasool, whose nickname is Landay, which means ‘Shorty’ in Pashto, allegedly used the videos to blackmail the women.

A number of videos began circulating on social media in recent weeks, but it is not clear when they were made or if they were filmed in Rasool’s village of Chinar in Pashtunkot distri ct.

In one video posted on Facebook, a bearded and turbaned man purported to be Rasool is seen loosening his white baggy trousers, clearly aroused.

A young woman, still wearing her long dress and headscarf, removes her trousers and lays on a large floor cushion where they have sex.

While the identities of the women are not yet known, their faces are visible in the videos, which have been viewed tens of thousands of times, raising fears for their safety in the deeply religious country.

“We predict there will be honour killings,” Faryab governor spokesman Jawed Bidar told AFP.

Provincial women’s affairs department head Sharifa Azimi said the women had been “tricked” and has urged religious leaders to tell their worshippers that they are “innocent victims, not bad women”.

“We are very worried that they will be murdered,” Azimi told AFP. — AFP