A court in Afghanistan has sentenced four men to death over involvement in a recent mob killing of a woman falsely accused of burning a copy of the Holy Qur’an.

The Primary Court in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Wednesday also sentenced eight people to 16 years in prison, while 18 others were found not guilty.

Judge Safiullah Mojaddidi, announcing the verdict, said the convicts have the right to file an appeal.

“It is not a final decision and their right to appeal is reserved,” the judge said.

Meanwhile, a verdict in the case of nearly 20 policemen accused of failing to prevent the attack is expected on May 10.

Reacting to the court decision, the victim’s brother said his family was dissatisfied with the large number of acquittals in the murder case, adding, “We want the court... to bring more perpetrators to justice,” he said.

Human Rights Watch has also expressed concern over the lack of fair trial and the hasty judicial process in the case.

“This trial leaves the impression that the Afghan government wants a quick and dirty process to get this case out of the headlines and move on -- rather than real justice and a real examination of how such a terrible attack could have happened,” said Heather Barr, a senior HRW researcher on women’s rights in Asia.

The trial opened on May 2. Dozens of suspects, including a number of police officers, are alleged to have played a role in the March 19 killing of the 27-year-old woman identified only as Farkhunda.

Afghan protesters hold banners as they shout slogans during a demonstration in Kabul on March 24, 2015 to protest the beating to death of an Afghan woman identified as Farkhunda. © AFP

Her murder sparked widespread anger as it was caught on cellphone cameras and circulated on social media.

Government prosecutors contend that the victim was beaten to death in a frantic attack triggered by a phony claim that she had burned a copy of the Holy Quran.

Amnesty International warned in a report last month about the escalating violence in Afghanistan, including threats, sexual assaults and assassinations, facing female Afghan activists.

The group accused the Afghan government and the international community of failure to act in order to stop the trend of mounting violence targeting women in Afghanistan.