11 Afghan police sentenced to year in jail for killing woman

An Afghan judge has sentenced 11 policemen to one year in prison for their role in the mob killing of a woman in Kabul.

Judge Safiullah Mojadedi found them guilty Tuesday of dereliction of duty. The judge freed eight other officers accused of failure to carry out their duty for lack of evidence.

A total of 19 policemen were among 49 people charged over the death of 27-year-old Farkhunda, who was brutally beaten to death at a Kabul shrine on March 19 after being falsely accused of burning a Quran.

The attack shocked Afghanistan and reverberated around the world, highlighting the brutality women face in the country's conservative society.

Earlier this month, four defendants were sentenced to death, eight to 16 years in prison, and 18 were freed for lack of evidence.

Farkhunda's brutal killing shocked many Afghans, though some public and religious figures said it would have been justified if she had in fact damaged a Quran. A presidential investigation later found that she had not damaged a copy of the Muslim holy book.

Her final hours were captured on mobile phone cameras by witnesses and those in the mob that attacked her. The videos of the assault circulated widely on social media. Chilling mobile phone videos recorded the horror of the last moments of Farkhunda's life, as she was punched, kicked, beaten with wooden planks, thrown off a roof, run over by a car and ultimately set on fire on the banks of Kabul River.

The incident sparked nationwide outrage and soul-searching, as well as a civil society movement seeking to limit the power of clerics, strengthen the rule of law and improve women's rights.

Al Jazeera and wire services