Abdul Rahman (Afghan minister)

Abdul Rahman (Arabic: عبد الرحمن; died February 14, 2002) was the Aviation and Tourism minister of Afghanistan until his death on February 14, 2002.[1]

Abdul Rahman
Died(2002-02-14)February 14, 2002
Kabul
NationalityAfghan
Known forAviation and Tourism minister

He was murdered in what appeared to be a mob attack on his plane at Kabul International Airport by pilgrims angry that they had been unable to travel to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.[1] Witnesses and officials said pilgrims beat the minister to death and tossed his body to the tarmac. However, President Hamid Karzai accused six senior government officials of the murder, saying that they were motivated by a long-standing feud.[2][3] Three were arrested and the others were being sought in Saudi Arabia. Karzai said five ministers, including the head of the intelligence ministry, General Abdullah Tawhedi; the technical deputy of the Ministry of Defense, General Qalander Beg, and a Supreme Court justice, Haji Halim and 15 other suspects had been linked to the assassination.

His widow is Frozan Fana, a medical doctor.[1] She was a candidate in the 2009 Afghan presidential election.

The news for his death in Japanese was later misunderstood as "Afghan air sumo wrestling killed", instead of "Afghan aviation minister beaten to death", which later became an internet meme on 2channel.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Rosie Dimanno (2009-08-15). "Taking on Afghanistan's patriarchy: Two women seeking presidency subjected to smears and hostility in fight for reform". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2009-08-18.
  2. ^ "Afghan minister murder probe begins". BBC News. February 20, 2002.
  3. ^ Synovitz, Ron (February 21, 2002). "Afghanistan: Rift In Government Surfaces Over Killing Of Minister". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
  4. ^ "ニュー速VIP板のスレッド | itest.5ch.net". itest.5ch.net[公式]|5ちゃんねる掲示板をスマホで快適閲覧 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-07-04.