Afghan Vice President Accused of Sexual Assault

A former senior official in Afghanistan says he was abducted and repeatedly sexually assaulted by Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum and 10 other men last month, the BBC reported Tuesday. The accuser, Ahmad Eshchi, is the former governor of the province of Jowzjan in the country’s north. Dostum has denied the allegations and said Eshchi was actually detained by the country’s intelligence services on suspicion of creating instability in the province. Regardless, the presidential administration has promised a thorough investigation into the claims, and both U.S. and EU authorities have expressed concern after the former official reappeared recently following a two-week disappearance.