Author: Tom Coghlan
Publication: Telegraph.co.uk
Date: December 12, 2007
URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/09/wafg409.xml
Taliban fighters hanged a 12-year-old boy
from a mulberry tree, claiming he was passing information on Taliban roadside
bomb attacks to police and British forces, Afghan police have said.
The gruesome murder, which occurred in Sangin,
an area held by British forces since driving out the Taliban in April, sparked
outrage among politicians, who accused the al-Qaeda-linked militant group
of atrocities against villagers. It was the second execution of a child attributed
to the Taliban in three months.
"If this is true and the age is right
it is an unforgettable crime," said Haji Mohammed Anwar Khan, the head
of Helmand provincial council.
"If someone is a child their mind is
not considered sufficiently mature to be held responsible under Sharia law.
This is just a crime and we condemn it."
Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, also accused
the Taliban of hanging a 15-year-old boy above a gas stove and lighting the
flame beneath him, burning him alive, but it was unclear if he was referring
to the same incident.
"Does anyone believe a human being can
be so savage as to burn alive a 15-year-old boy?" Mr Karzai said.
Gulam Ali, the Sangin police chief, said Taliban
fighters arrived at the home of Abdul Wassee in the village of Haji Nizamuddin
on Wednesday night.
"They took him to a small garden about
200 metres away," Commander Ali said. "There was a mulberry tree
and he was hanged by the neck from the branches of the tree. The Taliban claimed
the boy was a spy for the British."
The incident occurred in an area frequently
rocked by roadside bomb attacks on British and Afghan forces.
"Often when the Taliban put the bombs,
local people were informing us," the commander said. "We do have
spies in the area and that is how we were able to clear the bombs.
"But this boy was not one of our spies.
There was no trial of the boy. They just took him and hanged him. He was just
a normal boy."
Commander Ali's account of the killing was
corroborated by provincial officials in Helmand and senior police.
But Ahmad Muslim, a mullah and Taliban commander
operating in Helmand, denied his men were behind the hanging.
"The case of the boy is completely untrue.
Do you think that we would do such a thing?" he said.
"Under Sharia law he is not mature. He
cannot be hanged. It is possible someone has been hanged because of local
enmities and it is blamed on the Taliban. Everything is blamed on the Taliban."
In September, Taliban fighters were accused
of hanging a 15-year-old boy from an electricity pole in Sangin, after finding
him in possession of five $1 bills and accusing him of collaboration with
Western forces.
