An Afghan woman has claimed in an online video that a Taliban official beat her, raped her and forced her to marry him – allegations the senior member of the hardline Islamist movement denies.

The woman, who identified herself only as Elaha, said she was sexually assaulted by Saeed Khosty, a former Home Office spokesman.

Khosty denied the assault allegations and said he divorced Elaha after what he called a “consensual marriage.”

Her allegations and denials have been shared thousands of times on social media in Afghanistan, where it is rare for such allegations and personal details to be aired publicly.

Dressed in a headscarf, Elaha, who said she is a medical student at Kabul University and in her mid-twenties, is seen weeping as she describes her ordeal in footage posted online on Tuesday.

“In February, Saeed Khosty, the Home Office spokesman, forced me into marriage in the Secret Service,” she said, without specifying how the two met.

“I was beaten. I was raped there. I didn’t know what to do,” she said.

Elaha, who said she was the daughter of a former Afghan general, added that she tried to flee but was arrested at the Torkham-Pakistan border and taken to a prison in Kabul.

She said she was asked to apologize to Khosty and when she refused she was “slapped”.

It was not known where Elaha posted the video from or where she was currently located.

Khosty denied the allegations on Twitter.

“She had some issues around beliefs and beliefs. I tried to correct them through discussion and advice, but it didn’t work,” the Taliban official said.

“I didn’t hit her, but I divorced her in order to exercise my Islamic rights. I regret my marriage to her, which I entered into prematurely.”

He said Elaha is free to file a case against him if she so chooses.

“I apologize to the mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate and the Afghan nation. May God forgive me,” Khosty said.

“If my guilt is proven, the court can punish me. If she doesn’t believe in the courts of the Islamic Emirate, then I’m ready to go to any court she wants.”

After Elaha’s video surfaced, the hashtag #justiceforElaha went viral on social media.

Khosty received online support from some Taliban members.

“As long as a court doesn’t convict him, I don’t see him as a criminal,” tweeted former Kabul police spokesman General Mobeen Khan.

Last year, Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada issued a decree ordering the authorities to crack down on those who “force or coerce women into marriage”.

Since returning to power last year, the Taliban have enforced a strict set of rules governing women’s behavior, particularly in relation to public life.

The hardline Islamists have closed secondary schools for girls in most provinces and barred women from many government positions.

They have also ordered women to cover themselves fully in public, ideally with an all-encompassing burqa.