The release of a Somalian man on death row for the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl after he paid 75 camels undermines a landmark law to curb gender violence and promotes a culture of impunity in the east African nation, women’s rights groups said.
Aisha Ilyes Aden was abducted from a market in Galkayo, Somalia, in February last year. She had been gang-raped, and strangled to death and her genitals mutilated.
Three men were sentenced to death in May last year under a 2016 sexual offenses law in the semi-autonomous Puntland region, the first area in Somalia to criminalize offenses such as sexual harassment and rape.
Two of the three men were executed by firing squad earlier this month.
The execution of the third man, Abdisalan Abdirahman, was delayed at the time without any official explanation.
A relative of the victim confirmed that Abdirahman had been released on Thursday last week after an agreement to pay the family 75 camels as compensation for the girl’s rape and murder.
“I am upset at how the third man was left out. In Puntland, and in Somalia in general, rape victims don’t get justice due to the involvement of traditional leaders,” said Ubah Mohamed of the Somalia Gender Hub, a women’s rights group. “I am against such matters being handled through customary laws and traditions. This is a major problem in our judicial system, and it undermines the rights of women and girls.”
Somalian Ministry of Justice officials declined to comment.
Rape is pervasive and often goes unpunished in much of Somalia, where decades of conflict have fueled a culture of violence and weakened institutions meant to uphold the law.
Victims have traditionally been forced to accept compensation — often in the form of camels or livestock — and marry their assailants, a centuries-old practice designed to end disputes between rival clans.
The brutal nature of Aden’s killing sparked outrage and triggered public demonstrations.
The conviction of the three men was hailed as a first for Puntland.
Women’s rights campaigners said that violence against women would never end as long as customary laws allowed for agreements to resolve such crimes.
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