Hargeisa (AX) — Authorities in North Western State of Somalia executed nine people convicted of murder on Wednesday morning in the Mandheera area of Saahil region, after President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi Irro signed a decree authorizing the executions.
The nine people had previously been sentenced to death by courts in North Western State of Somalia in connection with separate murder cases, with reports indicating that most of them had previously served in various branches of the administration’s security forces.
According to reports from North Western State of Somalia, some of the cases were prosecuted and adjudicated by military courts.
The executions were carried out under qisas, an Islamic legal principle that applies a punishment equivalent to the crime in murder cases.
The sentences, which had previously been handed down by the courts, were formally approved after President Irro signed the order authorizing the executions.
Security agencies have not yet publicly disclosed the identities of the nine people executed, the circumstances surrounding their convictions, or the specific murder cases in which they were involved.
It is also unclear whether all levels of appeal had been fully exhausted before the executions were carried out.
Mandheera, located in Saahil region of North Western State of Somalia, has historically been the site where most executions ordered by courts in North Western State of Somalia have been carried out.
Successive administrations have carried out death sentences at the site, particularly in cases involving murder offenses subject to qisas.
The executions represent another instance of North Western State of Somalia enforcing the death penalty for homicide offenses, including cases involving officers and soldiers serving in the security forces.
