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A doctor was stoned because of the sin of examining a female patient who came to him for treatment, according to police reports in Afghanistan.
The doctor was thrown from a balcony and stoned by an angry mob in Afghanistan for treating a patient in an office without supervision.
It is unclear whether Dr. Ajmeer Hashimi was killed or seriously wounded and it was also unclear where he has been taken for medical care, Afghan officials said.
The female patient is in good condition at a women's shelter, according to police.
The assault occurred in Sar-i-Pul, a city controlled by the government in northern Afghanistan. There are conflicting reports about the incident, but the provincial police chief, Abdul Raouf Taj, said that villagers stormed the private clinic when they heard that the doctor was treating the woman, a midwife called Mahboba, alone in his room.
The police arrived to escort the physician and the patient out of the office, but while the woman was protected from serious attacks, Hashimi was thrown from a second floor balcony into the crowd below and stoned, Nabila Rahimi, who is an official in the village, said.
In many parts of Afghanistan, women are usually not allowed to be examined by male doctors unless a close male family member is present. Stoning is the punishment for adultery under Sharia law.
Taj said there was no indication that the doctor-victim relationship was anything other than professional.
"It's always difficult for women who work to keep in touch with their male colleagues, because most Afghans see them as sexual relations, and it's all due to ancient traditions and a low-level of education," Taj said.
Eventually, Hashimi was rescued and taken to the General Hospital of Balkh in Mazar-i-Sharif.
Both victims have spouses and Mahboba is the mother of two young children.
