Somalian Teen Executes Father's Murderer
May 5th 2006 03:08
Category: No Category
News from Somalia,
On 3 May, a Somalia teenager publicly executed his father’s murderer, a punishment ratified by a court-ordered ruling. The offender was tied to a pole and his head was covered by a hood. Sixteen year old Mohamed Moalim stabbed the man to death with multiple blows to the chest, neck and head. The last execution to be held in Somalia was over 10 years ago. The teenager reportedly said of the execution,
“My father’s killer is now gone. I am happy now because I killed the man who killed my father."
The Mogadishu Islamic courts came into effect in Somalia in 1994 and have been notorious for their brutal punishments. Amputations are a common punishment for thieves and the last executions in the country was the stoning of several people convicted of adultery.
Coming from a country that has no death penalty, the idea of execution style justice seems extreme. Moreover the style of execution and the involvement of direct family members is chilling. I can empathise with the Somali teenager and his family. If someone murdered a member of my family, the hatred I’d have for them would be unimaginable. However, I don’t think I could rationalize the ‘eye for an eye’ justice approach. I certainly couldn’t kill them myself. Especially not in the vulnerable circumstance of being tied to a pole and literally hacking them to death like a piece of meat. Call me a tree hugging hippie, but all life should be valued. No good has come out of the death of the boy’s father and no good has come out of the death of his murderer. There has been no resolution, just another murderer added to Somalia’s population. The words of this young man are gut wrenching. This whole situation saddens me.
On 3 May, a Somalia teenager publicly executed his father’s murderer, a punishment ratified by a court-ordered ruling. The offender was tied to a pole and his head was covered by a hood. Sixteen year old Mohamed Moalim stabbed the man to death with multiple blows to the chest, neck and head. The last execution to be held in Somalia was over 10 years ago. The teenager reportedly said of the execution,
“My father’s killer is now gone. I am happy now because I killed the man who killed my father."
The Mogadishu Islamic courts came into effect in Somalia in 1994 and have been notorious for their brutal punishments. Amputations are a common punishment for thieves and the last executions in the country was the stoning of several people convicted of adultery.
Coming from a country that has no death penalty, the idea of execution style justice seems extreme. Moreover the style of execution and the involvement of direct family members is chilling. I can empathise with the Somali teenager and his family. If someone murdered a member of my family, the hatred I’d have for them would be unimaginable. However, I don’t think I could rationalize the ‘eye for an eye’ justice approach. I certainly couldn’t kill them myself. Especially not in the vulnerable circumstance of being tied to a pole and literally hacking them to death like a piece of meat. Call me a tree hugging hippie, but all life should be valued. No good has come out of the death of the boy’s father and no good has come out of the death of his murderer. There has been no resolution, just another murderer added to Somalia’s population. The words of this young man are gut wrenching. This whole situation saddens me.
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