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Afghan Official: First Vice President to Return from Abroad

by Associated Press

   KABUL --

   Afghanistan's first vice president, a former Uzbek warlord, is
   returning home after more than a year of living in Turkey, a Kabul
   government official said Sunday.
   Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum is expected to return to the Afghan capital,
   Kabul, later in the afternoon, presidential spokesman Haroon
   Chakhansuri said.
   Dostum had been undergoing medical treatment in Turkey, was now well
   and would resume work, the spokesman added.
   Dostum left the country under controversial circumstances in 2017,
   after the attorney-general's office opened an investigation into
   allegations that his followers had tortured and sexually abused a
   former ally turned political rival. He had since reportedly been
   prevented by the government from returning to Afghanistan.
   It was not immediately clear whether Dostum will face any charges once
   home.
   "The judiciary in Afghanistan is an independent body and would carry
   out its duties and responsibilities as it deems appropriate," said an
   official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not
   authorized to comment on the issue.
   Dostum, accused of war crimes committed after the collapse of the
   Taliban in 2001, has also been criticized by the United States for
   human rights abuses.