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This should be requred reading for left-leaning ARMY.ca readers.
I poached this from MILNEWS by the way.....Thanx.
Article Link
Taliban justice: swift, certain, brutal
Tue Sep 25 2007
By Aziz Ahmad Tassal
GARMSEER, Afghanistan -- It began as a dispute between two neighbouring farmers over water rights in this small village, about 30 kilometres from Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province. It escalated when Mohammad Lal shot his neighbour to death.
That's when the Taliban stepped in to impose a form of justice that has won them fans all across the southern part of the country.
Within minutes of the shooting, their security services had taken Mohammad Lal into custody. By the next day, he had been brought before a Taliban judge, who found him guilty and sentenced him to death.
Within three days, the victim's family was told they could attend the execution.
In fact, the family would do much more than just witness the execution of a convicted murderer. Under Sharia, or Islamic law, the victim's family has the right to carry out a death sentence themselves.
Taliban representatives presented the victim's brother with a weapon. Without hesitating, he shot Mohammad Lal to death.
"I am very happy with the result," said the victim's brother, who asked that neither his nor the murder victim's name be used. "If the government had been in charge, there would have been a lot of paperwork and who knows how it would have ended.
"But this is good. I was given a gun and I shot my brother's killer. The government wouldn't let us do that. The Taliban decide cases very quickly, without wasting time. And they give people the right to carry out the punishment," he said.
Even where the government is able to exert control, many Afghans say they prefer the swift and certain justice meted out by the Taliban, even when it sometimes appears brutal.
Like many here, Gul Agha, a resident of Helmand province who works as a driver, sees the official government judicial system as hopelessly corrupt and inefficient.
"The government cannot resolve our cases," he said. "They do not punish criminals according to Islamic law. If they arrest a thief, they don't cut off his hand. And some of the criminals they arrest are set free to walk the streets."
Mullah Abdullah Akhund, a local Taliban commander, insisted that his men always act in full accordance with Islamic law, if not with Afghanistan's written constitution.
"We do not accept the constitution," he said firmly. "Our constitution is the Qu'ran. We punish a murderer or adulterer according to Sharia, and this is done by the Ulema (Islamic scholars) in each district."
Akhund made it clear that he found the nation's penal code lacking when compared to the Taliban's code. "There is nothing in the constitution about hair or beards, but shaving is prohibited by our law," he said. "And the constitution says that those who commit adultery should be imprisoned. But they should be killed."
More on link
I poached this from MILNEWS by the way.....Thanx.
Article Link
Taliban justice: swift, certain, brutal
Tue Sep 25 2007
By Aziz Ahmad Tassal
GARMSEER, Afghanistan -- It began as a dispute between two neighbouring farmers over water rights in this small village, about 30 kilometres from Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province. It escalated when Mohammad Lal shot his neighbour to death.
That's when the Taliban stepped in to impose a form of justice that has won them fans all across the southern part of the country.
Within minutes of the shooting, their security services had taken Mohammad Lal into custody. By the next day, he had been brought before a Taliban judge, who found him guilty and sentenced him to death.
Within three days, the victim's family was told they could attend the execution.
In fact, the family would do much more than just witness the execution of a convicted murderer. Under Sharia, or Islamic law, the victim's family has the right to carry out a death sentence themselves.
Taliban representatives presented the victim's brother with a weapon. Without hesitating, he shot Mohammad Lal to death.
"I am very happy with the result," said the victim's brother, who asked that neither his nor the murder victim's name be used. "If the government had been in charge, there would have been a lot of paperwork and who knows how it would have ended.
"But this is good. I was given a gun and I shot my brother's killer. The government wouldn't let us do that. The Taliban decide cases very quickly, without wasting time. And they give people the right to carry out the punishment," he said.
Even where the government is able to exert control, many Afghans say they prefer the swift and certain justice meted out by the Taliban, even when it sometimes appears brutal.
Like many here, Gul Agha, a resident of Helmand province who works as a driver, sees the official government judicial system as hopelessly corrupt and inefficient.
"The government cannot resolve our cases," he said. "They do not punish criminals according to Islamic law. If they arrest a thief, they don't cut off his hand. And some of the criminals they arrest are set free to walk the streets."
Mullah Abdullah Akhund, a local Taliban commander, insisted that his men always act in full accordance with Islamic law, if not with Afghanistan's written constitution.
"We do not accept the constitution," he said firmly. "Our constitution is the Qu'ran. We punish a murderer or adulterer according to Sharia, and this is done by the Ulema (Islamic scholars) in each district."
Akhund made it clear that he found the nation's penal code lacking when compared to the Taliban's code. "There is nothing in the constitution about hair or beards, but shaving is prohibited by our law," he said. "And the constitution says that those who commit adultery should be imprisoned. But they should be killed."
More on link
