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Somalia: Al-Shabab should not carry out amputations
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE
22 June 2009
Somalia: Al-Shabab should not carry out amputations
Amnesty International is calling on the Al-Shabab armed group not to carry out amputations on four men accused of robbery tomorrow morning in Mogadishu.
The four young men were sentenced today to cross-amputation (amputation of the right hand and the left foot) by an “ad-hoc” court set up by Al-Shabab in their military camp in northern Mogadishu. They were accused of stealing pistols and mobile phones from Mogadishu residents.
"We are appealing to al-Shabab not to carry out these cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments,” said Tawanda Hondora, Amnesty International’s Africa Deputy Director. "These sentences were ordered by a sham Al-Shabab court with no due process or guarantees of fairness."
The four men allegedly admitted to the robbery, but have not been represented by a lawyer, nor are they allowed to appeal against their sentence. The amputations are reportedly to take place in Al-Shabab’s camp, Masla, in northern Mogadishu.
Background
Al-Shabab factions and the Hisbul Islam armed group, headed by Sheikh Hassan Aweys, launched a military offensive against forces of the Transitional Federal Government, on 7 May 2009. The armed opposition is in control of several districts of Mogadishu. An Al-Shabab-controlled coalition in the port city of Kismayo, southern Somalia, has carried out at least two amputations since the beginning of 2009.
Public Document
****************************************
For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or email: press@amnesty.org
International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, UK
www.amnesty.org
PRESS RELEASE
22 June 2009
Somalia: Al-Shabab should not carry out amputations
Amnesty International is calling on the Al-Shabab armed group not to carry out amputations on four men accused of robbery tomorrow morning in Mogadishu.
The four young men were sentenced today to cross-amputation (amputation of the right hand and the left foot) by an “ad-hoc” court set up by Al-Shabab in their military camp in northern Mogadishu. They were accused of stealing pistols and mobile phones from Mogadishu residents.
"We are appealing to al-Shabab not to carry out these cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments,” said Tawanda Hondora, Amnesty International’s Africa Deputy Director. "These sentences were ordered by a sham Al-Shabab court with no due process or guarantees of fairness."
The four men allegedly admitted to the robbery, but have not been represented by a lawyer, nor are they allowed to appeal against their sentence. The amputations are reportedly to take place in Al-Shabab’s camp, Masla, in northern Mogadishu.
Background
Al-Shabab factions and the Hisbul Islam armed group, headed by Sheikh Hassan Aweys, launched a military offensive against forces of the Transitional Federal Government, on 7 May 2009. The armed opposition is in control of several districts of Mogadishu. An Al-Shabab-controlled coalition in the port city of Kismayo, southern Somalia, has carried out at least two amputations since the beginning of 2009.
Public Document
****************************************
For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or email: press@amnesty.org
International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, UK
www.amnesty.org
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