Sports Coach And Six Female Students Jailed In Mogadishu

Mogadishu, Somalia, September 21, 2006 – The Islamic authorities in Somalia capital Mogadishu said on Thursday they have arrested the coach of the karate club and six of his female players in Hamarweine neighborhood overnight. Source says.

Aweys Abati Orofeyo, the head of the karate game plus his female students are in now the jail after the Islamic forces raided former Hawa-tako primary school building in Hamar weine district where the coach was exercising the karate students.

The commander of the Islamist forces in Hamar-Weine and Hamar-Jajab districts Sheik Kadar Abdirahman Keyse told the local media the reasons Mr. Aweys and six of his pupils were imprisoned.

Sheik Kadar pointed out that the coach and his students have been involved in something against the Islamic ideology.

“It is taboo in Islam that men and women who are not related assemble indiscriminately in one place or a teacher mingles in his female students who are not properly dressed in the Islamic way. That’s in fact the culture of disbelievers”, said Sheik Kadar.

Sheik Kadar said they had already warned the local Olympic officials of holding such games particularly to stop women from playing karate and basketball.

The Islamists shaved Mr. Orofeyo and placed in dark cell and also rejected him to have access to the press.

The sports officials in Mogadishu declined to talk about the arrest of their karate coach for security reasons.

Since the powerful Islamists took control of the capital Mogadishu and other key towns in south and central Somalia, they had imposed tough measures on banning watching taboo films and now they have stopped the women from playing all kinds of games.

The Islamists continue to follow the Taliban style and ruling with hard fist, analysts say.

Source: SomaliNet