AFGHANISTAN. MAN PUBLICLY EXECUTED IN HELMAND

September 2, 2006: the Taliban publicly executed a man for his alleged involvement in a murder case in the Garmsir district of southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province.
Dozens of people in Safaar village were present and witnessed the extra-judicial execution. The Taliban leader on the scene, delivered a lengthy sermon to the gathering before the man was hanged.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi said the man was hanged because he had killed an innocent person recently and the victim's father had ‘demanded justice’. 
The alleged murderer was arrested about a week before the execution and was tried under Islamic laws. The execution was reportedly witnessed by a large crowd.
Ahmadi said it was the 11th case of its nature in Helmand since the overthrow of their regime in 2001.
Contacted for comments, district officials said they were not aware of any such incident. Inhabitants of Garmsir said Safaari village was out of the government's control since long. (Sources: Pajhwok Afghan News, 02/09/2006)