Abdullah Shah (1965–2004) was an

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

found guilty in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

of killing more than 20 people, including his wife. His sanctioned execution was the first in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

since the fall of the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

in late 2001. Shah served under Zardad Khan—even earning the nickname Zardad's dog— who served under Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in the

civil war in Afghanistan (1992–1996) War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...

. Shah and Zardad robbed travellers on the road from Kabul to Jalalabad. Shah was first convicted in special court proceedings in October 2002. Nine people testified against him at the trial, including another wife he tried to set on fire. The bodies of many of Shah's victims were found in a well in Paghman District. The execution took place in the Pul-e-Charkhi jail. Interim president

Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...

signed the death warrant. At the execution, Shah was shot in the back of the head. Witnesses present included representatives of the Afghan police, the Attorney General's office and doctors.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

protested against the execution claiming Afghanistan avoided basic standards of fairness. The organization added that Shah was probably silenced so he could not testify against commanders allied to the government. It said he was not provided a defense attorney, the trial was secret, a confession was obtained under torture and the first judge in his case was dismissed for taking a bribe. The second judge came under pressure from the Supreme Court to impose the sentence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Abdullah 1965 births 2004 deaths 21st-century executions by Afghanistan Afghan people convicted of murder Executed Afghan people Executed Afghan serial killers Male serial killers People convicted of murder by Afghanistan People executed by Afghanistan by firearm Uxoricides

See also

References