One of our stories in Kabul brought us to the home a young girl, Henna, who was 9 years old. She had her throat slashed and multiple puncture wounds around her liver. 2 men were arrested and 3 women by the Taliban. We chased the story and met the family.
The grandmother was in tears, she showed us Henna’s bloody clothes and gave a description of the event. The killers had lived next door and they were neighbours sharing a balcony over Henna’s family courtyard. They asked for some things from the shop from Henna who went to fetch it. And that was the last they heard of her for several hours as a father and son strangled and hung her and the women watched. One of the women ended up calling the Taliban cops.
Henna’s mother was in shock and couldn’t speak. The family were devastated and the people on the street were angry and filled with gossip of what just transpired. But people wanted justice.
We visited the Taliban police chief of the district to try and work out what happened and what would be the consequences. In Herat a few days before, the Taliban had hung up some kidnappers, their bodies riddled with bullets to show that crimes would not be tolerated. We expected the same. The detective showed us photos of the crime scene, there was medical supply stuff to show it could be for organ harvesting. Did the killers want to take her kidneys? Was it going to be capital punishment and would the murderers be hung up for display? The people on the street wanted it.
We finally met up with the father who was a SIV holder trying to get out Afghanistan with his family. They had hoped they would be on a plane right now but everything seemed lost now. He didn’t seem to want to tell the truth for fear of them. It seemed to be a mafia ring involved. Watching them in agony and seeing photos of Henna, this beautiful little girl, I too wanted the death penalty and be glad to photograph all their lifeless bodies hanging for what they had done. Vice News was covering the story as well as we all believe capital punishment would done in public.
Forensics department said it was a plain murder and ruled out the possibility as the kidney could not survive long from the host, even if you freezed it. A hospital dealing with transplant operations said their was only three hospitals that could do this operation, one in Herat and two in Kabul and they would not accept from an unwilling or a kidney in a esky. Smuggling to Pakistan? They would have to be quick.
It was twenty questions guessing and I would ask Naweed to ask the detective and or the father about the case. They both gave me short answers but I seem to crack it. These men where part of a smuggling ring and the women that were with them would work in schools identifying children of rich families. The women would lure the children to the house where they would be ransomed for money and if not, they would be killed. They had killed over eleven children.
The father of the killers was under suspicion of the Taliban who had been investigating and had talked to Henna’s father about them. The killer had talked to Henna’s father and threatened to kill him and his whole family. Henna’s father had told the killer that he had said nothing. Not trusting Henna’s father, they called Henna early morning from their balcony to buy some groceries for them which she did and came into the house. One of the women left and called on the Taliban to stop them. At first the father and son had been able to hide the body but the Taliban came back in full force and found Henna.
Eidgah mosque was in preparations for something. We all believe it would be setting up for public executions. Henna’s story made it on the news and it seemed like it would go through. The spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid mother died and there was funeral procession which was marred by a bomb blast. Hollie and I jumped on the motorbike and headed to the scene and met up with Naweed.
The fire brigade showed up and extinguished the car bomb and Taliban security was quick to block off the road.
After that event, the talks of punishment in the public dissolved and figured the Taliban would like international recognition and so decide to not have public execution and chopping off hands. Maybe it goes on in closed doors and could only hope the men who killed poor Henna and the other children met a painful death.
The judgement was pending for some time as the men were part of some ring and the Taliban wanted to catch the others before sentencing them. Unfortunately it became difficult to follow up the case as the killers were transfered to Puli Charki prison.