The National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, has rejected claims of sexual abuse of boys in Logar schools, saying that seeking asylum was the main reason behind the allegations.

In a statement released on Tuesday, NDS said that the claims made by Mohammad Musa Mahmudi, a civil society activist, and his colleagues were not based on evidences, and there were security threats against them. The activities are taken to safe place and their claims in report will be investigated by justice organs, the statement added.

The statement said that after the inquiry from Mahmudi, it became clear that his findings lacked evidence and made unprofessionally for seeking asylum for his family in a foreign country.

According to the Afghan spy agency, several people including schoolchildren were facing security threats after the claims were made public.

The NDS also released a footage of Mr. Mahmudi who apologizes from people and says that his investigation was incorrect and incomplete.

Unfortunately, two media outlets, an international and a national, released issues of sexual abuse quoting me, which is painful for me. I’m suffering when I’m reminding, Mahmudi said in a video released by the NDS.

On Monday, the Amnesty International called on the Afghan intelligence agency to immediately release the two human rights defenders it detained after they exposed alleged sexual abuse against children.

Musa Mahmudi and Ehsanullah Hamidi, both well-known human rights defenders from Logar province, were arbitrarily detained by the National Directorate of Security (NDS) on 21 November 2019 when they were on their way to meet with the European Union ambassador in Kabul, the UK-based human rights organization said.

The Amnesty International said while these human rights defenders are in custody of NDS, they are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

Rather than punishing them for speaking out against these horrific crimes, the authorities should praise them for their work and hold the suspected perpetrators accountable through fair trials and without recourse to the death penalty, said Samira Hamidi, South Asia Campaigner at Amnesty International.