(MOGADISHU-Somalia)A court controlled by Islamic extremists in Mogadishu on Monday sentenced four teens to amputation as punishment for robbery. The verdict said the four young men would lose both an arm and a leg as penalty for the crime. The decision came from al-Shabaab, one of the most powerful insurgent groups in Somalia.
“We have convicted them of theft, so they deserve to have their arms and legs amputated,” said Sheik Abdul Haq, the al-Shabaab judge in Mogadishu.
The young men were convicted of stealing cell phones and guns, but the judge has not set a date for the sentence to be carried out.
Amputations under al-Shabaab are not uncommon, as they follow a strict Sharia law, but are considered rare in the moderate Muslim capital. Many humanitarian groups are reacting to the punishment, considering it to be too cruel for the crime.
A video from NTV Kenya:
Tawanda Hondora, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Africa Program said: “These sentences were ordered by a sham al-Shabab court with no due process or guarantee of fairness.”
Citizens worry that the extremist group is using harsh action to show power and eventually control Somalia, installing a strict Islamic state. A recent surge of violence in the country has sparked the president to declare a state of emergency, hoping it will bring necessary change.
“We are asking the world community to rescue Somali people…We have been trying to solve everything with talks but we realized that they (the rebels) don’t want peace but violence,” said President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.
It is not clear what difference the declaration will make in bringing peace. Somalia has also requested immediate international intervention, but there has not been any indication of help yet.
www.religioustolerance.org/islsharia.htm
www.amnestyinternationalusa.org
Reported by Caitlin Tierney caity@eden.rutgers.edu
RU Broadcast News Writing 
Leave a comment