CCPR/C/126/D/2685/2015 Observers reported that legal officials used this article to charge women and men with ‘immorality’ or ‘running away from home’. Police often detained women for zina at the request of family members.”12 3.3 Another UNAMA report mentions that even though the Office of the Attorney General instructed Afghan prosecutors not to press charges against women for “running away” or “attempted zina” – acts not actually codified as crimes under Afghan law, as also confirmed by the Supreme Court – information provided to UNAMA by the Supreme Court for three provinces, including Kabul, showed that the authorities continued to imprison women and girls for “running away/attempted zina”, in violation of the Office’s Directive and Supreme Court instructions.13 It is therefore likely that F.M. risks a criminal prosecution if returned to Afghanistan, being guilty of both zina and “running away”. 3.4 Article 427 of the Afghan Penal Code provides that a person who commits adultery should be sentenced to a long term of imprisonment, which, according to article 100, cannot be less than five years or more than 15 years. Aggravating circumstances include if the victim is under 18 years of age, is a married woman or a maiden. R.M. therefore risks being imprisoned for up to 15 years. He also fears being subjected to blood revenge because he had sexual intercourse with F.M. without being married to her and because he helped her to escape from her family. F.M.’s cousin has already killed his brother and R.M.’s family has fled to Pakistan after refusing to pay blood money and receiving threats from F.M.’s family. 14 3.5 The Refugee Appeals Board erred by finding that the authors’ narrative was not credible. Particular weight should be given to the fact that F.M. gave birth to a child in February 2011, which means that the baby must have been conceived around May 2010, when the authors were still in Afghanistan. The authors admit differences in their explanations as to the timing of their sexual relations, but that there are no differences in the core content. Sexual intercourse outside of marriage is a criminal offence in Afghanistan and can result in long imprisonment for the woman. It is therefore of minor importance what number of days had elapsed between when the authors first met and when they had sexual intercourse, or the number of days between acts of intercourse. 3.6 The Board failed to give credence to the documents produced by the authors and translated into Danish, which showed that R.M.’s brother had been killed on account of the authors’ relationship. In A.H. v. Denmark, the Committee took note of A.H.’s allegations that neither the Immigration Service nor the Board had initiated any investigation as to the veracity and validity of the evidence produced in support of his detailed allegations. 15 The same applies to the authors’ case. 3.7 The authors’ case has been published in the Danish media, and both authors have appeared on television to tell their story.16 This additional profiling, which is probably known in the Afghan media, will make it difficult for them to return to Afghanistan unnoticed. 3.8 F.M.’s mental health is poor; she has attempted suicide several times. Her mental state will only worsen if she returns to Afghanistan, and the family can thus be regarded as particularly vulnerable. The authors will not be able to obtain any help from Afghan authorities because of the extramarital relationship. 3.9 According to the UNHCR Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Asylum-Seekers from Afghanistan, women who are (a) victims or those at risk of sexual and gender-based violence, (b) victims or those at risk of harmful traditional practices, or (c) perceived as contravening social mores are likely to be in need of international refugee protection17 F.M. belongs to two of those groups. 12 13 14 15 16 17 4 2013 Country Report, pp. 11-12. UNAMA, A Way to Go: An Update on Implementation of the Law on Elimination of Violence against Women in Afghanistan, December 2013, p. 24. Blood money is to be paid after an honour killing to receive forgiveness. A.H. v. Denmark (CCPR/C/114/D/2370/2014), para. 8.7. No further information provided. The Guidelines also state that, between October 2011 and May 2013, the number of girls and women detained for “moral crimes” was reported to have risen by 50 per cent (p. 56).