Murder in Court [Archives:2002/27/Front Page]

archive
July 1 2002

Police are still interrogating 25 tribesmen of Khawlan who carried out a murder in the court of Sayan, Hadhramout last Wednesday.
Abdul Shakoor Ali Adam was hearing the charges against him when a band of tribesmen entered the courtroom and shot him. The victim himself was being tried for the murder of Mohammed Hajer, General Director of Al-Sawm district, when the 25 tribesmen entered.
According to eyewitnesses, the men listened attentively to the courts proceedings before killing the Somali defendant with a variety of automatic weapons. A state of hustle and bustle then took place inside the court room. The tribesmen, some of them relatives of Hajer who had come down to Hadhramout from Sanaa, tried to flee but were apprehended by the police, with help from the military.
A number of officials and citizens have expressed their feelings that the crime is an insult to the Yemeni judicial system. The Ministry of Justice has expressed its sorrow that the courtroom must now be redecorated.

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