Lawyers Association Claims Ranjbar Arrest Violated Afghan Law

Afghanistan's Democratic Lawyers Association said on Sunday that the arrest of Abdul Kabir Ranjbar last week for kidnapping and rape was a clear violation of the law.

The Association called for Afghan President Hamid Karzai to set up a council to impartially study the incident and bring the findings to the attention of all Afghans.

Ranjbar was released a few days after the arrest after claiming that the female at the centre of the case who he was accused of raping was his wife. He described the incident as an alarm bell for the future of democracy and human rights in the country.

Ranjbar also said he wanted the United Nations and the European Union to investigate the incident.

The lawyers' association said in a released statement that the action of the country's Attorney General went against some articles of the Constitution, criminal law, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Association's Deputy Abdul Shokor Dadras said the government should investigate the case after such mistakes were made.

According to Ranjbar, the Attorney General arrested him without giving him time to demonstrate that the woman who had accused him was his wife. He said he wanted to provide the document of his marriage but the Attorney General did not give him time.

"I called to the Attorney General chairman and to its Deputy to have time for a meeting, but they did not answer me," he said.

The Association went to the Attorney General's office on Sunday with a group of reporters but the Attorney General refused to come and talk with them.