Taleban condemn Afghan executions

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/7728277.stm

Version 0 of 1.

The Taleban have condemned the Afghan authorities for executing three men convicted of murder and rape.

The men were freedom fighters, said the Taleban, who carried out many executions when they were in power.

Nine people have been executed in Afghanistan this week after the government resumed carrying out death penalties after a gap of over a year.

Human rights groups questioned whether the Afghan justice system was capable of providing free and fair trials.

They say there is a risk innocent people could be executed.

Public support

A statement from the Taleban Leadership Council strongly condemned the execution of three people it said had been accused by Kabul of crimes including rape.

In reality, it said, they were mujaheddin, fighting for the freedom of their country and the establishment of an Islamic regime.

The statement said those responsible would be punished.

And it demanded that the United Nations, the European Union, the Red Crescent and human rights organisations take steps to stop what it called the relentless killing of oppressed prisoners.

The BBC's Pam O'Toole says insecurity and crime rates are rising in Afghanistan and there has been strong public support for the government's decision to resume executions.

This has been despite expressions of concern from the UN, the EU and Amnesty International.

The Taleban have been widely condemned by the international community for conducting summary executions.

They began their period in power in Afghanistan by hanging the country's former president from a lamp post and subsequently conducted public executions in Kabul's football stadium.

Since being ousted in 2001, they have hanged or beheaded many people, including teachers and aid workers they accused of collaborating with Kabul or its international allies.

Last month they killed a group of young Afghan men they pulled from buses, saying they were military recruits.

The victims' families said they were civilians travelling to Iran to seek work.