Sources from Baghlan province in the north of Afghanistan said a teacher, Malik Ahmad Ahmadi, from the main public high school in Tala wa Barfak district died while in Taliban custody and that his body was handed to his family two days after his arrest.
Ahmadi was the headteacher at Tala wa Barfak district’s main high school. He was arrested on November 22, sources from the area and his relatives said, adding that he died after being tortured by the Taliban.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed his death on Friday, Dec. 9, and said Malik Ahmad was arrested on charges of links with the resistance front but died because he was ill.
“He had cardiac problems, and died in custody,” Mujahid said.
Photos from Ahmadi’s body, a copy of which has been optioned by Amu, show signs of torture on his body.
Four residents of Tala wa Barfak, a district in the far southwest of Baghlan, who do not want to be named, said that the teacher had no links with any group or party to the conflict.
“He was a teacher. He was arrested by Taliban intelligence. He was put into a container. Then they found in the morning that he was dead. He was martyred. Then the intelligence took him to the provincial hospital and they fled,” said a resident of the district.
Ahmadi’s relatives said the Taliban informed his family on Friday, Dec. 9, that he had died because of cardiac problems. They said they asked the Taliban to investigate the matter and that they will not take possession of the body until an investigation has been carried out.
“He (Malik Ahmad Ahmadi) was arrested on charges of links with the resistance front. He was beaten up badly and then his body was found. People have not taken his body and have said they will wait for the completion of an investigation,” said a resident.
Taliban has arrested dozens of civilians in Panjshir and Baghlan on charges of links with the resistance front over the past 15 months. The group has rejected claims of arresting civilians who are not linked to the resistance front.
In a recent incident, on Dec. 6, a tribal elder, Ahmad Khan Rasuli and his son were killed two months after being arrested by the Taliban. Their bodies were found in the city of Feroz Koh, center of Ghor province, last week.
His relatives told Amu that the tribal elder and his son had been arrested by Taliban intelligence.
