Taleban judges condemn pregnant woman to be flogged and shot dead

Published on Monday 9 August 2010 17:48

THREE Taleban mullahs condemned a pregnant woman to be flogged and shot in public in a remote part of western Afghanistan, after convicting her of having an affair.

Mullah Daoud, a senior Taleban commander, told The Scotsman he sat on the panel of three judges which reached the decision, in an area of Badghis province firmly under militant control.

"There were three mullahs that passed this verdict, I was one of them," he said. "We gave this decision so that in future no-one should have these illegal affairs.

"We whipped her in front of all the local people, to show them an example," he added. "Then we shot her."

Police said the woman's body was later dumped in an area under Afghan government control.

"She was shot in the head in public while she was still pregnant," deputy police chief in Badghis, Ghulam Mohammad Sayeedi, said.

Mullah Daoud said elders in Quds district approached the insurgents when the woman became pregnant, many years after her husband had died.

Police named her as Bibi Sanubar. Reports of her age ranged from 35 to 45.

"She had an illegal relationship with a man who was not her husband," Mullah Daoud said, expressing no remorse for the verdict.

"Her husband died many years before. Then she became pregnant. So, according to Islam, we gave her a very strong punishment. It was more than 200 lashes. Then we shot her."

The head of security in Badghis province, General Abdul Jabar, condemned the attack, although he said police were now hunting the man who made her pregnant.

He did not say if they were hunting the Taleban mullahs or the many witnesses to Sunday's brutal execution.

"This was not the way she should have been punished," Gen Jabar said. "She should have been arrested and we should have had proof that she'd had an illegal affair. Then she should come to court and face justice.

"This kind of punishment was very severe."

The sentence echoes strict Sharia verdicts handed down when the Taleban were in power in Afghanistan. Women were routinely shot, flogged and stoned in football stadiums, sparking international condemnation.

In practice, Afghan state law is only slightly better. Rape victims are routinely jailed for having sex outside of wedlock.

Adulterers and runaways are normally jailed for two to three years, although police often return women to their families to face traditional punishments, which include so-called honour killings.

"The other Taleban judges were Mullah Noorullah, Mullah Jahangir and me," Mullah Daoud said."There were other Taleban there, but there were only three commanders.

"Mullah Noorullah is the overall commander in Badghis."

The police accused a local Taleban commander, Mohammad Yousuf, of shooting the woman three times in the head at the end of her horrific ordeal.

Mullah Daoud confirmed Mohammed Yousuf was the local commander in Quds, but said he did not have the authority to reach such a verdict on his own.

A senior police official said Mullahs Daoud and Noorullah were both known the the authorities as senior insurgents, although he said they had not heard of the third judge.

An official Taleban spokesman denied they were involved.