15 prisoners executed, including man who killed 3 foreign journalists

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• published: 23 Jul 2015
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1. Various of relatives waiting outside Wazir Akbar Khan hospital to receive bodies of executed men 2. SOUNDBITE: (Dari) Noor Ahmad, Relative of the one of the executed man: "It was announced on the television last night that they had been executed and you (the relatives) could come and receive the bodies. 15 people were executed." 3. Wide of Humayun Hamidzada, spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, walking to podium 4. Media 5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Humayun Hamidzada, Spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai: "There was no understanding between the United Nations and the Afghan government about executions. The Afghan government is doing what its laws dictates it. We are a sovereign country, we do what our laws dictates to us. We of course respect the concerns raised by the international community, the UN and others, but you know capital punishment is not only practiced in Afghanistan but in many many countries including in Europe. So what we do is what is best for our people and what is in light of our constitution." 6. Journalist asking question 7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Humayun Hamidzada, Spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai: "The mode of the shooting, of the executions is by shooting inside the prison. But there is a proper procedure for it and then they follow the procedure." FILE: 20 November, 2004 8. Various of Reza Khan, who was convicted of adultery and the murder of one Afghan and three foreign journalists in 2001, walking towards court room 9. Reza Khan walking to defence box in court 10. Pan from judges to Reza Khan 11. Reza Khan defending himself in court 12. Judge listening 13. Close-up of Reza Khan's hands 14. Various of Reza Khan leaving court STORYLINE: Afghanistan will continue with executions of inmates on death row, despite international concern over the recent killing of 15 convicted prisoners by gunfire at the country's main prison, a presidential spokesman said on Tuesday. 15 prisoners were executed by gunfire at Pol-i-Charki prison on the outskirts of Kabul on Sunday, including a man convicted of killing three foreign journalists during the US-led invasion that toppled the Taliban regime in late 2001, officials said. Other crimes committed by those executed included kidnapping, adultery and armed robbery. On Monday the UN protested the executions, which could complicate some NATO countries' Afghan missions because they oppose the death penalty. The mass execution took place according to Afghan law, which calls for condemned prisoners to be shot to death, said Afghan presidential spokesman Humayun Hamidzada at a news briefing in Kabul on Tuesday. "We of course respect the concerns raised by the international community, the UN and others, but you know capital punishment is not only practiced in Afghanistan but in many countries including in Europe," added Hamidzada, Officials said no Taliban or al-Qaida fighters were among those executed. Afghanistan's former hard-line Taliban regime carried out public executions at Kabul stadium. Among those executed on Sunday was Reza Khan, who was convicted of adultery and the murder of one Afghan and three foreign journalists in 2001. The four were Australian TV cameraman Harry Burton, Afghan photographer Azizullah Haidari of the Reuters news agency, Maria Grazia Cutuli of Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera and Julio Fuentes of the Spanish daily El Mundo. Also executed was Farhad, also known as Pahlavan, who was involved in the 2005 kidnapping of Italian aid worker Clementina Cantoni. Cantoni was freed after three weeks in captivity. The leader of the group which kidnapped Cantoni, Temur Shah, was also on the list of the persons to be executed on Sunday, but managed to flee, Hamidzada said. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/e5d794f1d3016ba4bf3a1b2612efaa3b Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork