November 30, 2017
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry says five people were sentenced to death for committing murder and kidnapping and were hanged on November 29.
The convicts were executed at Pul-e-Charkhi prison in the capital, Kabul.
“A former member of Herat Provincial Council is among the five people,” Najeeb Danesh the acting spokesperson for the ministry told Radio Azadi.
An appeals court of Herat province, western Afghanistan, a year ago sentenced Askar Anwari, a former member of the Herat Provincial Council, and four others for the kidnapping and killing of a young man, Mohammad Shah, in Herat city.
Shah was the son of a deputy chief for a construction company in the western province.
Kidnapping for ransom is a top security concern for people living in Herat city.
The ministry said the executions were carried out after three appeals courts and President Ashraf Ghani confirmed the death sentences of the five convicts.
Death sentences are rarely carried out in Afghanistan. The last time Ghani approved an execution order was in May 2016 for six people convicted on terrorism charges.
With reporting by AP and dpa