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| Africa Horn |
| Sentence is amputation for 3 Somalis |
| 2009-10-13 |
| Six masked men used machetes to carry out amputations on three men accused of robbery by a Somali Islamist court, a witness said Saturday. Abdulahi Hassan Afrah said the masked men chopped off a hand and a foot from two of the accused, and a foot from the third man after the Islamic court in the southern port city of Kismayo realized he was already disabled. Afrah said a crowd of about 400 people, mainly women and children, watched the sentence carried out Friday on the three screaming young men. "It was most painful thing I have ever seen," he said. A spokesmen for the al-Shabab militia, Sheik Hassan Yaqub Ali, said the three had admitted robbing passengers aboard a truck heading to Kismayo. None of the three was allowed to appeal the sentence or had access to a lawyer. The Islamic courts were originally set up to try to counter the bloody chaos of Somalia's 18-year-old civil war. Initially their harsh judgments were welcomed by many of the war-weary population, and in 2006 the courts formed the basis for an Islamist administration that controlled much of the capital and southern Somalia. Last year, the courts in Kismayo ordered a 13-year-old gang-rape victim to be stoned to death. But amputations and public floggings are more common. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #8 They were diagnosed with diabetes, and the eeeeevil doctors amputated their feet for fees /Barack Hussein Obama, mmm mmmm mmm |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-10-13 20:45 |
| #7 I thought they were just supposed to lose a hand. What happened to double their sentence? |
| Posted by: gromky 2009-10-13 20:25 |
| #6 Muslim sharia courts have no provision for leniance, given evidence of theft. They do it because their nominal sacred text is perverse. Quranimals do as quranimals are. Peaceful co-existence? Screw that! |
| Posted by: Snineting Tojo7266 2009-10-13 16:42 |
| #5 It's my understanding that it's surety of punishment that deters crime. Harsh but sporadic punishment encourages the impulsive to play the odds. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-10-13 14:48 |
| #4 I have to admit I'm torn here, the punishment should deterr crime, but aparently (As harsh as it is) Doesn't |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2009-10-13 12:57 |
| #3 #2 Barbarians. Posted by: Parabellum 2009-10-13 08:22 #1 So does witnessing acts like this scare the hundreds of kids into obeying the law or just desensitize them to obscene violence? Posted by: Glenmore 2009-10-13 07:41 My sentiments exactly. |
| Posted by: WolfDog 2009-10-13 10:10 |
| #2 Barbarians. |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2009-10-13 08:22 |
| #1 So does witnessing acts like this scare the hundreds of kids into obeying the law or just desensitize them to obscene violence? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2009-10-13 07:41 |