CAGE Africa calls for enquiry into police killings of three Muslim women in Kenya
Johannesburg – CAGE Africa calls for a full and independent enquiry into the deaths of Tasmin Yakub, 25, Ramla Abdirahman, 19, and Maimuna Abdirahman, 21, who were killed by police at the central police station in Mombasa, Kenya on September 11 this year. According to police, the three women had recently pledged allegiance to ISIS, and had walked into Mombasa Police Station armed with a knife, a petrol bomb and a suicide vest. Police said they had fired on the women to thwart a terrorist attack, while one of the women was burnt almost beyond recognition by her incendiary device. Police have subsequently arrested seven alleged co-conspirators. There are, however, several concerns with this version of events. According to human rights activists the three girls went to report a stolen phone, fought back when male officers attempted to forcibly remove the niqab of one, and were all then shot dead and at least one set on fire to lend credence to the cover-up story. No weapons or suicide vests have since been produced. Post mortem reports seen by CAGE show excessive police force: Ramla was shot seven times, including twice to the head, and Tasmin was shot eleven times. Maimuna died from severe burns. Furthermore, Maimuna and Ramla’s father was reportedly co-erced into signing an affidavit stating that he would not hold police officers accountable for their actions. Feroze Boda, spokesperson for CAGE Africa, said: “Two video clips of events give credence to the notion that this is a cooked up story. One clip shows Tasmin and Maimuna lying on the ground outside the police station. One sits with her right arm in the air before collapsing next to the prone body beside her and rolling onto her back. Over the next two minutes at least two armed officers take turns firing seven shots at the girl who was collapsing. The second clip, allegedly filmed inside the police station, shows the horribly burned Ramla, lying on the floor, moaning as police question her. The call to prayer can be heard in the clip showing that she was left without medical assistance for two and half hours and died in severe pain.” “There are no weapons and no injured police officers. The police station also does not display any damage from an alleged detonation. If the women intended to harm, they should have been arrested and given a fair trial – instead this is an extrajudicial killing.” “By using reasons of ‘terrorism’ to justify killing Muslims, police risk inflaming tensions even further. The only way out of this cycle of violence is a return to the rule of law and justice. We call for a full and independent enquiry into these events.”
Press enquiries: press@cage.ngo
CC image courtesy of Amy The Nurse on Flickr
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