KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (AP) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai is pardoning an Afghan woman serving a 12-year prison sentence for having sex out of wedlock after she was raped by a relative.
Karzai's office also said the woman and her attacker agreed to marry. That would reverse an earlier decision by the woman, who had previously refused a judge's offer of freedom if she agreed to wed the rapist.
Thursday's statement says Karzai decided to forgive the rest of the woman's sentence after hearing from judicial officials. It's not clear how much time the woman has served.
Her plight was highlighted in a documentary blocked by the European Union because it feared the women profiled would be endangered by its release.
More than 5,000 people signed a petition urging Karzai to release her.
(COPYRIGHT 2011 BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
KKCO firmly believes in freedom of speech for all and we are happy to provide this forum for the community to share opinions and facts. We ask that commenters keep it clean, keep it truthful, stay on topic and be responsible. Comments left here do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of KKCO 11News.
