| Afghanistanâs President Hamid Karzai has signed a decree permitting the death penalty for those convicted of child smuggling to use the victimâs body parts, a spokesman said Sunday. The eight-article decree was signed Saturday before Karzai left for a brief trip to the United States in response to growing concerns about the issue, presidential spokesman Jawad Ludin told AFP. All of the articles relate to the abduction of children and the decree states that the judiciary must hold public hearings into any cases of child kidnapping, trafficking or hostage taking. According to one of the articles, if the kidnapperâs crime results in the disabling or death of the child through loss of body organs âthen the perpetrator will be given the severest of possible punishments contained within the law,â Ludin said. âIf the act leads to the death of the child kidnapped the crime will be treated as premeditated murder,â he said. The death penalty is allowable under Afghanistanâs legal systems but all executions must be approved individually by the president. |