FACT CHECK: No, This Image Does Not Show An Afghan Air Force Pilot Being Stoned To Death
An image shared on Instagram purportedly shows Afghan air force pilot Safia Ferozi being stoned to death.
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Verdict: False
The photo was taken in 2015 and shows Farkhunda Malikzada, who was killed by a mob.
Fact Check:
The Taliban quickly took control of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 15 after the U.S. started withdrawing troops from the country, the Associated Press reported. In an Aug. 23 press conference, the Taliban announced it would uphold women’s rights under Islamic law, though White House officials are skeptical, according to USA Today.
An Aug. 19 image on Instagram claims to show Ferozi, Afghanistan’s second-ever female air force pilot, with a bloodied face surrounded by people. “Safiya Firozi (sic) one of the four lady pilots of the Afghan Air Force. Stoned to death in public this morning,” text in the image reads.
The photo does not, however, show Ferozi. Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found the photo in a May 2015 article published by The Times bearing the headline: “Men to hang for mob murder of woman.” The article explains four Afghan men were sentenced to death for the mob killing of Malikzada, who was falsely accused of burning a Quran.
“The woman, known as Farkhunda, was falsely accused of burning the Koran,” the image’s caption reads on The Times. (RELATED: Does This Image Show An Indian Air Force PLane Evacuating People From Afghanistan?)
Graphic video footage of the Malikzada’s murder was posted in December 2015 by The New York Times. “Farkhunda Malikzada, a 27-year-old Muslim woman falsely accused of burning a Quran, was killed by a mob in central Kabul as hundreds watched and filmed,” reads the video’s caption.
An internet search turned up no media reports of Ferozi being stoned to death or that she has died.
