Islamic State ‘crucifies,’ lashes Ramadan fast breakers
Jihadist group metes out public punishments in its Syria territory; accused highway robber’s hand, foot cut off
Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
Reports have emerged that Islamic State enforcers lashed and crucified three people in Syria for breaking the Ramadan fast.
The people were said to have been held in cages for hours prior to receiving their punishments at the hands of IS’s Daesh al-Hisbah religious police last week.
Ramadan, which began two weeks ago, requires Muslims to fast from morning to nightfall for a month, eating and drinking only at night.
Two people were flogged and then tied to crosses outside a police station in Mayadin, in the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ezzor, which lies around 50 miles from the Iraqi border, reports said. Another person suffered the same fate in the city of Al-Bukamal on the banks of Euphrates River.
“The three were crucified and handed 70 lashes after being caged for several hours,” said Jalal Ahmad, head of Justice for Life Observatory.
Rami Abdelrahman, of the UK-based watchdog Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, confirmed the reports and said the crucifixions were carried out to serve as an “example” for others.
“We heard of similar instances happening in Raqqa two days ago,” he added, referring to the Islamic State’s capital in Syria.
It was not clear from reports if the crucified people survived the ordeal.
In 2015 IS publicly flogged 94 people in Syria, including five teenagers, for violating the Ramadan fast.
The Daily Mail reported that on June 17 IS released images of an alleged highway robber punished by amputation of his right hand and left foot.
The blindfolded man was seated in a plastic chair before militants chopped off his limbs and then left him lying on a stretcher, bandaged and with his head still covered.
After capturing large areas of Syria and Iraq in recent years, IS enforced its strict interpretation of Islamic law on local residents. In the past, the group has published images and videos of people being brutally punished for a range of crimes. In some incidents alleged homosexuals were thrown to their deaths off high buildings as crowds watched from below.
