Rape victim Gulnaz freed after pardon

Gulnaz, 19, was sentenced to 12 years for adultery and gave birth a baby daughter in prison after she reported the rape to police.

Her lawyer, Kimberley Motley, said she was released around 8:30pm on Tuesday and taken to a “safe place” in Kabul.

Her ordeal drew international condemnation when it emerged she had tried to tell her story in a documentary commissioned the European Union – but the EU banned the film before it was ever aired, citing concerns for relations with the Afghan government as well as Gulnaz’s safety.

At one stage a judge suggested she should marry her attacker, who is serving 12 years in Kabul’s Pul-e-Charki prison for rape.

Although Gulnaz said she hated her rapist, she also contemplated marrying him because she said it was the only way to broker peace between their two families and to give her daughter a father.

When Afghan officials first announced her pardon, Mr Karzai’s office said she had also agreed to marry her attacker. However, her pardon is unconditional.

“She is out, she is safe and she is considering her options,” Miss Motley said.

Mr Karzai’s spokesman, Aimal Faizi, said the pardon was officially signed Tuesday morning.Mr Karzai first ordered her release on 1 December, after summoning the attorney general and the head of the supreme court to review her case.

At one stage Gulnaz demanded a 1,000,000 Afghani (£14,000) dowry before she would agree to marry the rapist. She has also demanded one of her rapist’s sisters should marry her brother – in an exchange known as badal – as security against further abuse.

Her attacker’s family has refused both demands, so far.