Safiullah Ahmadi, a young Afghan whose photo was published in the Guardian newspaper this week, alongside a story of the alleged killing of a gay person in Kabul, has said he intends to sue the publication.

In a video posted on social media, Ahmadi said he is looking for “restoration of dignity and has requested all media outlets, including the UK’s Guardian, run a correction and remove his photo.

On Tuesday the Guardian published a story on the alleged abduction, torture and killing by Islamic Emirate security forces of an openly gay medical student in Kabul.

The Guardian named the victim as Hamed Sabouri but used a photograph of Ahmadi.

According to the report, a video of Sabouri’s alleged execution was then sent to his family, who, the Guardian states, have since left Afghanistan.

Ahmadi who is living in Iran at the moment says he learned about the news of the killing of the gay medical student in the media and through social media networks.

He said he had no idea why his photograph was used.

“Unfortunately, the story that the Guardian newspaper published with my picture, the accusation that I am gay and that I was killed by the Taliban three days after being tortured, is not true, and the Guardian newspaper and all the newspapers that published this should be held accountable,” Ahmadi said.

“I want to get a lawyer and restore my dignity,” he added.

The story, which has gained widespread interest, has been slammed by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) – who have denied any truth to the allegations.

IEA Spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said there was no truth in the story the Guardian newspaper published.

The same person, Ahmadi, speaks for himself, that he is neither gay nor dead and wants to restore his dignity, said Mujahid.

“Is this freedom of speech?”, Mujahid asked in a tweet.

“By publishing such baseless reports on Afghanistan, media such as BBC and Guardian show that they don’t want real freedom but they want ‘desired freedom of expression’ to bite anyone they want freely and fearlessly,” Inamullah Samangani Director of Government Media and Information Center (GMIC) tweeted.

“Biased treatment reveals the main purpose,” Samangani added.