Region | Somalia
Woman accused of adultery stoned to death in Somalia
A young woman accused of adultery was stoned to death in Somalia, in the first such public execution for about two years.
- Agencies
- Published: 12:11 October 28, 2008
Kismayu: A young woman accused of adultery was stoned to death in Somalia, in the first such public execution for about two years.
Hundreds of people saw Islamists kill the 23-year-old woman late on Monday in the southern port of Kismayu, which has been under the control insurgents since August, witnesses said.
Guards opened fire when a relative ran forward, killing a child, they said.
"A woman in green veil and black mask was brought in a car as we waited to watch the merciless act of stoning," one local resident, Abdullahi Aden, told Reuters.
"We were told she submitted herself to be punished, yet we could see her screaming as she was forcefully bound, legs and hands. A relative of hers ran towards her, but the Islamists opened fire and killed a child."
Relatives of the woman, who said her name was Asha Ibrahim Dhuhulow, said she was unfairly treated.
"The stoning was totally irreligious and illogical," said her sister, who asked not to be named. "Islam does not execute a woman for adultery unless four witnesses and the man with whom she committed sex are brought forward publicly."
Islamist leaders said the woman had breached Islamic law but promised to seek justice for the shot child.
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