Somalia executes 4 soldiers by firing squad

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – Four Somali officials, including from the military, police and the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), were executed Thursday by firing squad in Mogadishu.

“Today, February 02. 2023, the military court executed Bukhari Awil Mohamud of the national intelligence and security agency (NISA), Ali Mohamud Hussein of the military forces, Abdirisaaq Ahmed Mukhtar member of the police forces and Mohamed Nur Sheikh Warre, who was also a member of the police, after the court found them guilty of killing fellow soldiers,” separately in the Lower Shabelle region and the border town of Dolow in the Gedo region, Mohamed Abdullahi Khalif, deputy prosecutor of the armed forces of Somalia told reporters.

The Armed Forces Court has been carrying out death penalties for years despite pressure from international partners.

Although Somalia experienced years of armed conflict and political instability, in recent years, it has made significant progress in rebuilding state and government institutions, according to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

But it said Somalia has not yet reformed its 1964 penal code which currently did not include a definition of torture.

But a comprehensive review of the penal code is expected to be finalized later this year and could include several revisions, including a definition of torture that is consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.