Somali prosecutor seeks death sentence in trial

[Fyr]

HARGEISA, Somalia, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Prosecutors in the self-declared republic of Somaliland on Tuesday asked a regional court to sentence to death 10 people suspected of killing aid workers between 2002-2004.

 

The 10 suspects were accused of killing award-winning Italian aid worker Annalena Tonelli in October 2003, a British teaching couple Richard Eyeington and his wife Enid in the same month, and a visiting Kenyan aid worker in March 2004.

 

At the close of hearings, Somaliland's prosecutor-general Hussein Dhere said the penal code provided for the death penalty for the accused who he called terrorists.

 

But defence lawyers urged the court to dismiss the prosecutor's stand, arguing it was against Islamic Sharia law to pass a death sentence on the defendants.

 

"As the defendants have admitted to committing two of the crimes they are accused of, the court should be lenient in its judgment," said Mohamed Jama Abdi, one of the defence lawyers.

 

The court has held over 20 hearings in which it received testimony from 33 witnesses from the prosecution and four from the defence. Judge Abdirahman Hayanhe said he would give his verdict on Sept. 25.

 

The suspects are also accused of robbing a Somaliland businessman near the Ethiopian-Somaliland border and the attempted ambush of a World Food Programme vehicle in Hargeisa in 2002.

 

Security was tight around the court with police manning all roads leading to the court. Only journalists and relatives of the defendants were allowed inside the court.

 

Somaliland declared its independence from Somalia in 1991 and is a relatively stable enclave which held its first multi-party election in 2003.

 

On Tuesday, the opposition Justice and Welfare Party kicked off campaigns for a parliamentary election scheduled for late September promising free primary education and health services

[Young Jeezy]

I don't approve of killing somalis for white aid-workers. Besides how do we know they have the right people and not some poor miskiins who were targeted for other reasons.

[Abdulladiif Al-Fiqih]

You right Young, theY are helpless Nomads who are Targeted because of their Qabiil bloodline and political reasons

[Qudhac]

^^^^

 

actually they were cought red handed with blood on their hands, at the town on dhoqosay near the ethopian borders where they put fierce resistant but were eventually captured by police and locals.

 

 

and the man who organised it was eventually captured by americans in jbouti and transfered to somaliland through ethopia, were he lost a leg in the process.

 

 

personally i dont think a death penalty is nessesary.