In the Middle East
Two captive Japanese men dressed in the now all too familiar orange prisoner’s garb, kneel in the desert sands with their black-clad executioner brandishing his knife. Islamic State is demanding a $200 million ransom for their release, but everyone knows that even if their demands are met, they may decide to kill their hostages anyway. Islamic State militants are not known for their scruples.
In Mosul, Iraq, last week, thirteen young teenagers were caught by Islamic State watching an Asian Cup soccer game between Iraq and Jordan. They may have known that under Islamic State’s imposition of Sharia Law the penalty would be harsh if they were caught, but they were boys. The charges against them were read out through a loudspeaker before all thirteen were mowed down under machine-gun fire. Under ISIS this is the penalty for entertainment. They were dragged out into the street and left to lie there. Parents of these youths were too afraid to claim the bodies for fear they would meet the same fate.
A woman was stoned to death for adultery – no mention of her male partner, but I doubt she committed the sin alone. [Read more…]