SOO MAAL Posted April 8, 2005 SOMALIA: Saudi beheading of Somalis "grossly unfair" – Amnesty says 08 Apr 2005 09:46:07 GMT Source: IRIN NAIROBI, 8 April (IRIN) - The public execution of six Somali nationals in Saudi Arabia on Monday was a shocking abuse of human rights, according to Amnesty International (AI). "Six Somalis were suddenly executed in public on 4 April without being informed in advance that their five-year prison sentences, which they had served - and also been lashed - by May 2004, had apparently been changed later to death sentences by a secret procedure," Martin Hill, Horn of Africa researcher for AI, said on Thursday. Ali Sheikh Yusuf, Abdel-Fatar Ali Hassan, Abdullah Adam Abdullah, Hussein Haroon Mohamed, Abdul-Nur Mohamed Wali and Abdullah Hassan Abdu had been detained in a prison in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia's largest city, since their conviction for theft in May 1999. AI said that the trial of the men, said to be migrant workers from Somali capital Mogadishu, had been inconsistent with international standards on fairness. The six Somalis were unaware that they were at risk of death, according to AI, which said it had written to the Saudi minister of interior regarding the men's status, but had received no response. Decrying the secrecy surrounding the Saudi Arabian criminal justice system, the human-rights watchdog said that most defendants and their families were not informed of the charges against them, nor of the progress of legal proceedings. It further stated that defendants could be convicted solely on the basis of confessions obtained under duress, torture or deception. Trial proceedings took place behind closed doors, AI said, and those accused had no right to legal representation - while in the case of foreign nationals, inadequate or no access to consular assistance was allowed. AI put the total number of people executed in Saudi Arabia in the last four months at 51, almost two-thirds of which were foreign nationals. It called on Saudi Arabia's King Fahd to commute all outstanding death sentences, and to bring Saudi trial proceedings into line with international standards. According to the Somali press, human-rights groups in Mogadishu have also condemned the executions as illegal and contrary to both Islamic Shariah law and international law. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SOO MAAL Posted April 8, 2005 The Saudi Executions: Un-Islamic and Extra-judicial Killing By Abdul Wahid Sheikh Osman Introduction It may seem quite disingenuous to some that so many Somalis have expressed sadness, outcry and anger regarding the recent Saudi executions. No foreign friend or foe has ever inflicted upon us as much misery and destruction as we, Somalis, brought upon ourselves. Therefore, if we, Somalis, are, indeed, serious about restoring our dignity and protecting our citizens and natural resources from the injustices and toxics of the foreigners, let us put our house in order and build a nation state that would safeguard our rights at home and abroad. This short comment is not intended to discuss the position or view of the western legal systems towards the punishment imposed on these six young men. Suffice to say that the methods by which these executions are carried out amount physical torture and are contrary to the Bill of Rights, Charter of Freedoms and other safeguards enumerated in the constitutions, statutes and laws of the Western countries. Instead, I will attempt to examine whether or not these punishments are reflective of the Islamic legal doctrines and injunctions. The Islamic Law and the Saudi Executions Since the majority of the provisions in the Saudi Penal Code are based on Islamic law, at least in theory, I would like to examine the Saudi actions under both the strict interpretations of the classic Islamic Law and in light of the expositions by the early Islamic Jurists. According to the statement by the Saudi Interior Ministry, the six Somali gangsters were convicted of “abducting and robbing taxi driversâ€. Thus, there were no allegations of murder in the statement. Now, based on the above facts, the only possible crime, under Islamic law, which these men can be charged with and which they might be found guilty of is the crime of Hirabah, a crime similar to the Highway Robbery. Linguistically (Arabic), the term Hirabah comes from the root Hariba, a verb that means to become angry and enraged. By derivation the noun harb (pl. hurub) means variously “war†and “enemy. In Islamic legal terminology, the term Hirabah is broadly defined as “spreading mischief in the land,†but its precise meaning is “killing by stealth and targeting a defenseless victim in a way intended to cause terror in society.†This crime , being one of the Hudud crimes, and its punishment is described in the holy Quran as Surah al-Maidah 5 verse 33-34 states “The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crufication, or the cutting off the hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter. Except for those who repent before they fall into the power: In that case, know that Allah is Oft-Forgiving and Most Merciful†The Jurists from the four major schools of jurisprudence in the Sunni Islam have interpreted the punishment contained in the above verse as following: (A) A Jail time or discretionary punishment (Ta’zir) not leading to death penalty but might include exile will be imposed where Hirabah was committed without seizure of property or causing death. (B) First strike: With amputation of the right hand from the wrist and the left foot from the ankle where property was seized, but death was not caused. © In the event of a Second strike, that is where the Hirabah is committed for the second time, the offender will face the imputation of the left hand from the wrist and the right foot from ankle. (D)Where murder occurs in the course of committing Hirabah but no property was seized, the offender will face the death penalty. (E) The most severe punishment will be imposed where the offender commits murder and seizes property, in which case he will face death penalty and or including crucification. In the absence of any credible and fair sentencing guidelines, appeal process and competent legal defense in the Saudi justice system, the Saudi executions are, therefore, from Islamic law perspective, unusual, appallingly inhumane, cruelly disproportionate punishment to the crimes allegedly committed by these young men. I am not questioning the solemn duty of the Saudi government to protect its citizens and maintain law and order rather, my point is that even under the most strict Islamic law interpretations, the charges brought against these young men carry maximum punishment of amputation of their hands and legs and NOT executions. I wonder if the Saudi authorities would find the guts to impose the same punishment had the offenders were its own citizens or those of powerful foreign country, a sad fact that speaks volumes about the state of administration of justice in the Muslim world today! Abdul Wahid SheikhOsman is an Adjunct Professor at the Law School of the University of Minnesota and a regular contributor of Hiiraan Online. E-mail: Shei0038@umn.edu Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SOO MAAL Posted April 8, 2005 Saudi State Executed 6 Somalis Outside The Law A Typical Weekly Beheading In Saudi Arabia (Photo: Saudi Insitute) The Saudi Kingdom of Saudi Arabia brutally slaughtered like sheep six young Somali men without due process of law in the port city of Jeddah last Friday of April first 2005. The Interior ministry said that the Somalis were caught while in the process of robbery and piracy in which they wanted to seize a Taxi but the Saudi government had failed to produce any hard evidence in this regard or allow the young Somali men to have access to legal representation. It is not clear what legal procedures or justice system the Saudis had applied because in accordance with Islam, you cannot kill people without due process of law and you cannot certainly execute people on unproven and dubious grounds. In the cases of robbery etc, the death penalty does not apply on Islamic jurisprudence. So it will be interesting to know what justice systems the Saudi state had applied to finish off the young Somalis. Somalis at home and around the globe were saddened and dismayed by the cruel and heartless action taken by the Saudi state against 6 Somali men who were virtually refugees in Saudi Arabia. To conclude, the Saudi state must give believable explanations as to why they executed the 6 Somali youths without fair and open trial. Similarly, the Saudis must alter their aggressive and merciless policies against the Somali people who happen to be in their country for whatever reason otherwise relations between the two peoples and nations will be severely damaged. This does not mean that the law should be overlooked but the manner in which the Saudi police and the security apparatus behave and deal with foreigners is most barbaric, uncivilised and utterly inhumane to say the least. If I were the president of Somalia, I would have severed all relations with the Saudi government until they apologised and changed their bad treatments against the Somali people. The Saudis must understand the values of human dignity, the importance of God given life and the sacrosanct of God's justice. Hassan S. Shirwa Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
