ISIS jihadis crucify civilians for breaking Ramadan fast
ERBIL – Extremists of the Islamic State (ISIS) arrested a number of civilians in Syria’s northeastern Deir ez-Zor province for breaking the Ramadan fast, activists and eyewitnesses reported on Thursday.
The arrestees were publicly flogged then crucified in the city of al-Mayadeen in Deir ez-Zor on Thursday evening.
“The ISIS-led Hisba Police arrested 11 people in Mayadeen for breaking the Ramadan fast. They were flogged with 50 lashes each, and then crucified in the market square downtown,” local media activist Yassir al-Farhan told ARA News.
“Hundreds of people witnessed the brutal punishment. ISIS is trying to terrorise the people through conducting such punishments in public,” the source said.
Eyewitnesses told ARA News that an ISIS official from the Sharia Court of Deir ez-Zor read a statement to the public before flogging and crucifying the victims, saying there is no excuse for any Muslim citizen to break the fast of holy Ramadan.
Similar cases were reported in the city of Abu Kamal, where ISIS militants punished at least eight civilians by crucifying them on electricity poles for deliberately breaking fast.
Speaking to ARA News in Deir ez-Zor, media activist Saray ad-Din reported that since the start of Ramadan, ISIS brutal crackdown on civilians has mounted in the province.
“According to ISIS rules, every citizen, no matter his/her age or health condition, is obliged to fast Ramadan, otherwise would be punished by flogging and crucifixion,” the local activist said.