One of Afghanistan’s most prominent psychiatrists, who was abducted by armed men in September, has been found dead, his family has confirmed.
Dr Nader Alemi’s daughter, Manizheh Abreen, said that her father had been tortured before he died.
“Yesterday we have paid $350,000 [£260,400] to the abductors and they promised to release my father today. But this morning we have received his dead body instead.”
Alemi, 66, who opened the country’s first private psychiatric hospital, was abducted in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, after his car was stopped as he was being driven home from work.
He had received threatening calls and messages in the months before his abduction.
The kidnappers originally demanded a ransom of $800,000 (£600,000).
Abreen said: “They told us to sell our house and hospital and we bargained with them and pleaded that no one will buy property in this situation. They weren’t listening. We collected money from our friends and family and sold the cars and jewellery we had.
“We could only afford this much [$350,000]. Our father was old, plus he was suffering from diabetes, but those brutal people didn’t pay heed.”
Abreen said her father’s body showed clear signs of torture.
Alemi was a prominent figure in Mazar-i-Sharif, where he opened his hospital. He was believed to be the only Pashto-speaking psychiatrist in northern Afghanistan, and his patients had included Taliban fighters.
Dr Khan Murad Muradi, one of the doctors in Alemi’s hospital, said he was a “kind-hearted man”.
He said: “No one feels safe here in Mazar-i-Sharif.”
An Afghan human rights activist, who declined to be named for security reasons, said: “The abductors and killers should be held accountable and the Taliban should provide security to the people of Afghanistan.”
