28 October 2012

How families on both sides of the law face tough choices in Somalia

Relatives of murder victims must pardon the perpetrators, kill them or demand blood money – currently set at about $20,000.

When Ali Faras's 21-year-old son was murdered, the local court gave him three options: to pardon the killer, demand blood money from the man's family or call for his execution. If he decided the latter, he would have to perform the killing himself.

The killer, Mohamed Sanbaare, had been his son's friend and business partner. Sanbaare owned a fishing boat and the pair worked together as human traffickers, ferrying immigrants across the sea to Yemen. One day, out at sea, Sanbaare shot and killed his friend. It was, he said, an accident. [The Huffington Post] Read more