GAROWE, Puntland – A court Sunday handed down the death penalty to three men found guilty of raping and brutally killing Aisha Ilyas Aden, a 12-year-old girl in Somalia last February, Garowe Online reports.

Nugal regional court in Garowe, the capital of Puntland State has announced the death sentence against Abdifitah Abdirahman Warsame, Abdisalan Abdirahman Warsame, and Abdishakur Mohamed Dige.

The court acquitted 7 others, mostly youths charged with the involvement of the rape and subsequent killing of the young girl whose tragic case sparked mass demonstrations held across Puntland.

Aden was abducted at a market in northern Galkayo town on February 24. Her body was found the next morning near her home. A post-mortem found she had been gang-raped and then strangled to death.

The court decision came after Somalis in and abroad the country took to social media using the hashtag #JusticeForAisha, calling on Puntland government for a proper investigation into the murder and rape of the girl.

GAROWE ONLINE