AFGHANISTAN: HELMAND MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING WIFE

July 6, 2015: A primary urban court in southern Helmand province sentenced a man to death for killing his wife.
The first primary court handed down the capital punishment to Mohammad Shakir during an open trial in Lashkargah, the provincial capital.
Attorney Asmatullah Hanif said Shakhir was physically and mentally sound and had killed his wife.
Investigations show Shakir had been mistreating his spouse before killing her. He mercilessly fired 21 bullets at his wife in front of their two small children and another woman using a hunting gun.
The attorney said Shakir had confessed to killing his wife and he should be hanged.
The victim’s father, Gul Wali, said her daughter left behind two children and endured all kinds of cruelties during her five years with Shakir. I had repeatedly demanded divorce for my daughter, but Shakir would refuse and finally killed her.
The father urged the court to award harsh punishment to the killer so that violence against women could be prevented. But Shakir’s defence lawyer, M. Hakim Rahimi, insisted his client was drug addict and he had killed his wife in an abnormal situation.
He urged the court to award punishment to Shakir keeping in view his health condition.
Judge Abdul Halim Muslim ruled since Shakir had confessed to his crime and had been proven guilty; the court sentenced him to death under clause 390 of the penal code.
However, he said the judgment was not final and could be challenged in a higher court. It merits a mention here that it is for the first time in Helmand province that someone was sentenced to death for killing his wife. (Sources: thefrontierpost.com, 06/07/2015)