WUNRN
UN - OHCHR - SOMALIA Homepage: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/countries/AfricaRegion/Pages/SOIndex.aspx
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"Mr.
Bari, the Independent Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Somalia, noted
that under Al Shabaab's interpretation of Sharia law, anyone who has ever been
married – even a divorcee – and has an affair is liable to be found guilty of
adultery and punished by stoning."
27 November 2009 – An independent United Nations human
rights expert today condemned the series of stonings that have been taking
place in Somalia, and called for an urgent end to such “cruel, inhuman and
degrading” practices.
Shamsul Bari said the public stonings, floggings and summary executions carried out by Islamist armed groups in central and southern Somalia highlight the “deteriorating” human rights situation in the strife-torn nation, where Government forces have been battling Al Shabaab and Hisb-ul-Islam opposition groups for many months.
Mr. Bari, the Independent Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Somalia, noted that under Al Shabaab's interpretation of Sharia law, anyone who has ever been married – even a divorcee – and has an affair is liable to be found guilty of adultery and punished by stoning.
According to reports from a village near the town of Wajid, 400 kilometres north-west of the capital, Mogadishu, a 20-year-old divorcee accused of committing adultery was stoned to death by Islamists in front of a crowd of 200 people on 18 November.
Earlier this month, a man was stoned to death for rape in the port town of Merka, south of Mogadishu, and in October two men are reported to have been executed after being accused of spying. Similar executions took place earlier in the year.
“I strongly condemn these recent executions by stoning in Al Shabaab-controlled areas of Somalia,” Mr. Bari stated in a news release.
He called on all parties to immediately end such cruel, inhuman and degrading practices, including stoning, amputations, floggings and other unlawful acts of torture and murder.
In addition, he urged all Islamist groups, including Al Shabaab and other armed groups, and religious leaders to abide by their obligations under international human rights and humanitarian laws.
He also urged the international community to engage with Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to identify priorities in terms of security, humanitarian and human rights, and to strengthen the Government's capacity to investigate rights abuses and hold the perpetrators accountable.
Mr. Bari reports to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council in an independent and unpaid capacity.
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Subject: Somalia - Woman Stoned to Death for Alleged Adultery
WUNRN
Somali Woman
Stoned for Adultery
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A 20-year-old woman divorcee accused of committing adultery in Somalia has been stoned to death by Islamists in front of a crowd of about 200 people. A judge working for the militant group al-Shabab said she had had an affair with an unmarried 29-year-old man. He said she gave birth to a still-born baby and was found guilty of adultery. Her boyfriend was given 100 lashes. It is thought to be the second time a woman has been stoned to death for
adultery by al-Shabab. The group controls large swathes of southern Somalia where they have imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law which has been unpopular with many Somalis. 'Lenient' According to reports from a small village near the town of Wajid, 250
miles (400km) north-west of the capital, Mogadishu, the woman was taken to
the public grounds where she was buried up to her waist. She was then stoned to death in front of the crowds on Tuesday afternoon. The judge, Sheikh Ibrahim Abdirahman, said her unmarried boyfriend was given 100 lashes at the same venue. Under al-Shabab's interpretation of Sharia law, anyone who has ever been married - even a divorcee - who has an affair is liable to be found guilty of adultery, punishable by stoning to death. An unmarried person who has sex before marriage is liable to be given 100 lashes. BBC East Africa correspondent Will Ross says the stoning is at least the fourth for adultery in Somalia over the last year. Earlier this month, a man was stoned to death for adultery in the port town of Merka, south of Mogadishu. His pregnant girlfriend was spared, until she gives birth. A girl was stoned to death for adultery in the southern town of Kismayo last year. Human rights groups said she was 13 years old and had been raped, but the Islamists said she was older and had been married. Last month, two men were stoned to death in Merka after being accused of spying. President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a moderate Islamist, was sworn in as president after UN-brokered peace talks in January. Although he says he also wants to implement Sharia, al-Shabab says his version of Islamic law would be too lenient. The country has not had a functioning national government for 18 years. |
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