By BBC
Five young men were sentenced to death by firing squad for the gang-rape of an unnamed woman in Galkayo, Puntland’s capital city in Somalia’s semi-autonomous region. The civilian court trial concluded in a single day after all five defendants—four aged 18 and one 19—admitted guilt for the assault on 22 February.
Traditional conflict resolution mechanisms in Puntland typically require rapists and survivors to marry, but this case represents a rare judicial outcome. The trial followed public outrage over the recent murder of a 13-year-old girl in Galkayo, whose body was found mutilated with broken teeth and a severed ear, though the motive remains unconfirmed.
The victim’s family reported the girl’s body was discarded in front of their home after she was strangled with a rope. Local authorities have not yet disclosed the reason for the attack, which has intensified calls for legal reforms in the region.
