The authorities in Puntland, a semi‑autonomous region of Somalia, have executed a woman convicted of murdering a 14‑year‑old girl, in a rare case in the region in which the death penalty has been carried out against a woman.
Hodan Mohamud Diiriye, 34, was killed by firing squad on Tuesday in the city of Galkayo after a court found her guilty of beating to death a teenager who had been working as a domestic helper.
Saabirin Saylaan’s killing in November sparked protests in Galkayo, along with renewed calls for greater child protection.
The case touched a deep nerve in a country where child abuse often goes unreported, especially when it occurs inside extended families.Hodan Mohamud Diiriye was sentenced to death after her trial at the end of last year.
Officials said the sentence was carried out under “qisas”, an Islamic legal principle that allows the family of a murder victim to demand execution rather than accept financial compensation.
A decree in the Mudug region, where the murder happened, requires Islamic law to be enforced in such cases.
Members of both Saabirin’s family and Diiriye’s family were present when the sentence was carried out, according to Faysal Sheikh Ali, Mudug’s governor.
The Puntland authorities said this was the first time in more than 10 years that a woman had been executed there under a retaliatory sentence.
The last known execution of a woman occurred in 2013, when 13 members of the Islamist militant group al‑Shabab, including one woman, were executed by firing squad for their involvement in the killing of a prominent Islamic scholar, the authorities said at the time.
By Anthony Solly
