Wrongfully Accused Boy Gets Hand, Foot Cut Off By Islamic Court
The Taliban has been known to mete harsh penalties since it seized control of several rural districts in Afghanistan in the late 1990s. On Monday, the militants carried out another brutal punishment under their interpretation of Sharia law by cutting off a suspected carjacker's hand and foot in public.
The victim, 15-year-old Ghulam Farooq, had been detained for more than 70 days in a remote area in the western Herat. "My friends suggested stopping people on motorcycles and stealing from them, but I tried to stop them. They did not listen to me," the young man told DW.
"My friends stopped three people who were traveling on motorcycles, tied their hands and eyes and took the bikes with them," Farooq continued. He untied the victims and offered them help, but they turned to the Taliban for help like most villagers do in areas where there are no government services available.
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Farooq was tried alone as his friends have fled the area while his family pleaded for his freedom. "We tried everything during this period. We sent tribal elders to the Taliban and asked for his freedom but they never released him," his older brother said.
The "court" decided that Farooq be mutilated in the presence of his family in the Obe district. "After the hearing, I was given an injection. Later a man came and took my hand and foot from me," narrated Farooq, who is now recuperating in the main hospital of the province. Doctors said his condition is not life-threatening.
Sharia law is associated with tough punishments for adultery, blasphemy and crimes such as theft. The punishments include flogging, amputation, stoning and crucifixion, which are all done in public. Homosexuality is punishable by death. A woman accused of adultery was stoned to death in Badakhshan province early this month.
