Ash-Shabaab Executes 2 Spies

[Ibn al-Iskandar]

As-Salaamu Alaykum,

Contrary to what happens often, I'd like to first present some context for this news piece and then present the story afterwards. Then let's see if it is possible to de-sensationalize the event by placing it within its proper context.

People have been killed by Firing Squad in the following countries in the past century and before:

The Finnish Civil War (1918): some 9,700 Finns and an unknown number of Russian volunteers on the red side were executed during the war or its aftermath[1].

Indonesia (2006): Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus da Silva, and Marinus Riwu were executed in 2006 for leading a religious-based riot.

Ireland (1916): During the state of emergency in World War II ... five were shot by firing squad after sentence by military tribunals under Emergency legislation. [2]

Israel (1948 and pretty much every day in the Palestinian streets) [3]

Mexico (during the Revolution), Netherlands (Nazi leader in 1946), Philippines (Drug lord Lim Seng in 1972), Norway (1945), currently on the books in the UAE.

England (1941): German Corporal Josef Jakobs was shot for espionage during World War II— including 25 Canadians, 22 Irish and 5 New Zealanders — who were shot for desertion, murder, cowardice and other offences during the war...[4]

United States (2010): Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed by five anonymous officers on June 18, 2010 (by firing squad) [5].

France (1917): Executed by firing squad accused female spy, Mata Hari, in 1917 during WWI. She was suspected of spying for Germany. [6]

Now granted, most of the above cases are during revolutions and civil wars and that is exactly what Somalia is going through right now and has been for the past 40 years at least.

In terms of looking at females involved in espionage and the position of the west towards this, then Tammy Proctor in Female Intelligence: Women and Espionage in the First World War writes:

"The British, in particular, manipulated the image of female spy-martyrs for propaganda purposes, using their deaths at the hands of the enemy to gain a high moral ground..."

And she adds:

"... the British widely used female spies and sent them into danger in the occupied territories..." [7]

Seems the west is still up to their old tricks...

Of course many countries involved in wars of attrition employ any and all members of the local population be they minors or women to obtain information and pass on information in propaganda or intelligence operations.

So while many countries as a matter of modern legal opinion do not execute female spies anymore, the fact is most used to, especially during times of revolution or civil war and conflict within the state. Also, most countries do not execute spies during peace time.

With that said, Somalia today is a country undergoing a brutal and intense civil and revolutionary war in which many outside governments and organizations have a stake in the outcome. So if the current government, who controls over 3/4's of the country executes by firing squad 2 women for espionage, then there are precedents for this in places like France during their countries era of conflict. And the US still executes people by firing squad to this day, albeit under much different circumstances.

Yesterday, 2 WOMEN (not children) were executed in Somalia by firing squad for the crime of espionage.

Let any media outlet come forward and condemn this as long as their country never executed anyone by firing squad during a time of conflict, nor did they ever send any women as spies behind enemy lines who were then executed by current allies.

Source for Recent Somali Execution Story

For the entire discussion on 'Execution by Firing Squad' see Wiki article: Execution by firing squad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[1] War Victims of Finland 1914-1922 at the Finnish National Archives

[2] Remembering the Past: Executed IRA men reinterred An Phoblacht

[3] Nachman Ben-Yehuda: Political Assassinations by Jews: A Rhetorical Device for Justice (1992)

[4] The Shot at Dawn Campaign The New Zealand government pardoned their troops in 2000; the British government in 1998 expressed sympathy for the executed, and in 2006, the Secretary of State for Defence announced a full pardon for all 306 executed soldiers from the First World War. (website currently down for copyright infringement)

[5] Ronnie Lee Gardner

[6] Source

[7] Source

[G_G]

inb4 the new october accounts rush in here to condemn Alshabaab and promote the TFG

[abuhannah]

Ireland (1916): During the state of emergency in World War II ... five were shot by firing squad after sentence by military tribunals under Emergency legislation. [2]

Correction,that should state World War I...

Went on a school trip there when I was kid,must have been,82/83,saw the the court yard where many men were lined up and shot,still haunts me to this day but woke me up real early to the harshness of this life...

Kilmainham Gaol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Easter Rising - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Ibn al-Iskandar]

^Right you are- WWI it is.

Jazaak Allahu Khayraan.

lol at the October crop comment...

[Firebrand Mullah]

killing spies is standard operation procedure in war time. Even if you supsect someone of being a spy, killing them wont get you any punishment. Because wartime is different. And all these so called international laws do not apply for the kuffaar.

BUt when muslims kill a spy even if there is evidence, they will still squeal and weep and cry claiming its wrong to kill spies.

[Layth]

And some ppl still believe that Aljazz is an unbiased sources of information. That aricle was no different than any other propaganda piece. The focus was on the alleged age of the women, how scared they looked and the reaction of onlookers while nothing was said about whether or not they were guilty. The purpose of such articles is to present Muslims as bloodthirsty savages and the hudud as barbaric.