Taliban execute two people convicted of sodomy

KABUL, March 23 (Reuters) - The Taleban movement publicly executed two men convicted of sodomy in western Afghanistan as part of their Islamic law policy, the official radio said on Monday.

"The Sharia (Islamic code) punishment was implemented on two sodomists yesterday in Herat and the criminals were put under a wall,'' Taliban-controlled radio Voice of Sharia said.

The radio said Bismellah, aged 22 and Abdul Sami 18 from Herat province, who were arrested four months ago for sodomy, confessed without any pressure. The men were buried under a wall, which was bulldozed over them.

Last month the Taliban ordered the execution of three men for sodomy in the southern town of Kandahar. They were ordered buried alive under a pile of stones and a wall was pushed on top of them by a tank.

They were still alive when the stones were removed 30 minutes later and their lives were spared.

Taleban policy over human rights, forcing women to wear an all enveloping burqa and banning them from education has come under strong western criticism.

Radio Sharia said that Taliban speakers in Herat on Sunday urged complete enforcement of Islamic laws without external influence.

"The Islamic Emirate (Taliban) will bow under no kind of influence in the implementation and enacting of Sharia punishment and divine orders,'' the radio reported.

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