Freed: The only man arrested over Bibi Aisha's mutilation

THE only person held over the savage mutilation of an Afghan woman that caused worldwide revulsion has been freed from prison after the case against him collapsed.

Haji Suleiman, who was accused of holding a gun to the head of his daughter-in-law while her nose and ears were hacked off, greeted fellow villagers in his home in southern Afghanistan with a vow to never return to jail.

The Scotsman has learnt that he has been freed on conditional bail, but the case appears doomed because the victim and only witness prepared to speak - 20-year-old Bibi Aisha - has remained in the United States after reconstructive surgery.

And the release of Suleiman seems to have got no closer to ending the blood feud between the families. Bibi Aisha's father, Mohammedzai - who goes by only one name - fled his lands after threats from Suleiman's family and the local Taleban - both of which accuse him of bringing shame on Afghans by allowing his daughter to travel to the US unaccompanied.

The case of Bibi Aisha gained international outrage when her portrait was featured on the front page of Time magazine last year, stirring debate over what would happen when foreign troops left Afghanistan.

She had run away from her abusive husband in 2009 and when found was mutilated and left for dead on a freezing hill. She was rescued by villagers and later taken out of the country by the US military.

She accused her husband, Qudratullah, and Sulieman, her father-in-law, of committing the attack.

Suleiman, 45, was arrested late last year while Qudratullah fled to Pakistan. Suleiman had denied he had anything to do with his daughter-in-law's mutilation.

The reasons for Suleiman's release are unclear, yet prosecutors have previously said the case would fail if Bibi Aisha did not return to give evidence.

District prosecutor Mohammed Hanif confirmed that Suleiman had been released - a local shopkeeper had guaranteed the accused would return to court if asked. He refused to discuss the case further. A spokesman for the provincial governor said he was unaware of the release.

Suleiman was freed from the prison in the Uruzgan provincial capital Tarin Kot last week and travelled to his home district of Chora.

According to locals, about 15 elders greeted him warmly. He told them: "I am free, it's finished. I won't go back."

Mohammedzai said his entire family's life had been ruined. He fled his lands in spring and said he could not go back for fear of retribution from Suleiman's family and the Taleban.

"They said I brought shame on Afghans for allowing my daughter to go unaccompanied to America," he said.

"They said, 'She's become a non-believer. She's living with non-believers'. If the Taleban capture me, there is no chance of me being alive, they will kill me."

There is now speculation that Qudratullah, the man who took the blade to Bibi Aisha's face, will now return to Chora, fearless of arrest - another reason Mohammedzai says he cannot go home.

"Now I am living here with a life with no future," he said.

Abdul Qayam, 25, a farmer from Chora, said people were unsure why Suleiman was released, with some speculating he had bribed his way out.

He said the case was a major issue in the remote, deeply conservative part of southern Afghanistan and many people agreed that Mohammedzai had shamed the people.

"Everybody talks about his case. They ask of him, ‘What kind of Muslim are you who sends his daughter to the hand of the unbelievers?' Is he receiving money by sending her?" Mr Qayam said. He agreed that if Mohammedzai returned he would be killed.

"I am 100 per cent sure the Taleban will behead him.

"Poor Mohammedzai can't even come to his property. It's summer and his almond crops are about to die."