Afghanistan Attorney General’s Office said on Thursday it rejected dozens of complaints about comments on social media that allegedly insulted Amrullah Saleh, the first vice president-elect.
In a statement, AGO said that Green Trend, an organization led by Saleh, had referred 39 individuals to it for investigation over insults against Saleh.
AGO said that insulting people is considered crime according to the country’s penal code, however, since the complaints were not made by the victim himself, it refused to investigate them.
This comes as Amnesty International on Wednesday criticized the referral.
“No one should face reprisals for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression,” Amnesty International South Asia said on Twitter.
Saleh responded saying “no one is threatened, pushed or pulled in any manner by myself or Green Trend.”
“Laws on Internet bullying and cybercrime have been passed by our parliament. Illegal intrusion and baseless allegations are seen as offence in all countries,” Saleh wrote on Twitter.
