Afghan Mullah arrested for raping 10-year-old schoolgirl

KABUL (Reuters) - An Afghan cleric has been arrested after allegedly raping a young schoolgirl in the country's north on the second day of the Ramadan, the holiest month in Islam, Afghan security officials said on Monday.

The Mullah, named by the interior ministry in a statement as Mawlavi Sayed Ahmad, was arrested on Saturday after local residents caught him with the 10-year-old girl in Aybak city, in northern Samangan province.

Police said the girl was now under treatment at a hospital, while Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) described the incident as "terrible", particularly given the respect accorded to clerics in the deeply religious country.

"The mullah used to go to the schoolgirl's house, teaching her Islamic studies. The mullah raped her after the evening prayers on Saturday night," a local police official said on condition of anonymity.

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