Afghan lawmaker attacked by other legislators

KABUL, Afghanistan — An outspoken female legislator was physically and verbally attacked by her colleagues after saying on the Parliament floor that some of Afghanistan's mujahedeen leaders were criminals who shouldn't now be legislators, officials said Monday.

Malalai Joya, who apparently was unhurt, said several female legislators hit her with empty plastic water bottles and male legislators made death threats and lobbed insults at her after her speech on Sunday.

One legislator had her hair pulled during the scuffle, another official said.

Moderate legislators in the 249-member lower house formed a circle around Joya to protect her, she and other legislators said.

"I said there are two kinds of mujahedeen in Afghanistan. One kind fought for independence, which I respect, but the other kind destroyed the country and killed 60,000 people," Joya said.

Shukari Barikzai, another female legislator, said Joya's speech accusing some legislators of being warlords was calm and dispassionate, but she was attacked anyway. She said one female legislator pulled the hair of a female colleague protecting Joya.

Joya, who represents Afghanistan's western Farah province, has spoken out against warlords and drug lords before.

In December, during Afghanistan's first full session of Parliament, Joya called for all of Afghanistan's human-rights abusers and "criminal warlords" to be brought to justice.

Delegates responded by pounding their fists on the tables to demand she sit down.

But she refused, shouting that she had a right as an elected official to speak her mind.