President Hamid Karzai telephoned the father of a boy killed last Thursday by kidnappers to reassure him that justice will be done.
The father told TOLOnews on Sunday that Karzai called him to offer his condolences and told him the "judiciary organisations will sentence them to be punished."
The Herati businessman said his son was buried Sunday after the burial was delayed to protest the incident.
Hundreds of residents turned out Friday and Saturday to protest in front of the government offices against the murder of the boy who was kidnapped for money.
The protestors called for harsh punishments to those who had been arrested over the case, saying "we will not have the burial until the government has convicted them [kidnappers]."
The father of the boy said the kidnappers had initially asked him to pay US$400,000 for his son's release. This was negotiated down to US$90,000, which was paid, but the boy was killed and buried by the kidnappers - probably in order to protect their identities, the father told TOLOnews Thursday.
Cases of kidnappings in Herat have dropped in the last two months compared to six months ago, however the recent incident has reignited concerns for the ruthless criminal behaviour.