AFGHAN GOVERNMENT EXECUTES THREE FOR MURDER

November 8, 2008: the Afghan government executed three men for crimes including murder, the state broadcaster announced.
"The death sentence was implemented on three criminals today," Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) said in an evening news bulletin.
The independent Pajhwok Afghan News agency said the executions had been confirmed to its reporters by a senior Afghan government official who said the three were hanged.
One, identified as Ahmad Jahish, was found guilty of the 2005 abduction and murder of a money-changer. He and his gang demanded five million dollars' ransom for release of the hostage and killed him when the money was not paid, RTA said.
Abdul Shekib was convicted of abducting a 16-year-old boy in 2004 and killing him in 2005.
The third man, identified as Noorullah, was found guilty of killing an eight-year-old boy after raping him in 2003, it said. (Sources: Agence France Presse, 08/11/2008)