“The Islamic police of al-Hisba launched a campaign of arrests in central Mosul, looking for people who have broken Ramadan fast. They have arrested dozens of civilians in the past two days,” reported local media activist Jabir Muntazir.

Extremists of the so-called Islamic State group (ISIS) on Thursday flogged 22 Iraqi civilians in Mosul city of the northwestern Nineveh province for breaking Ramadan fast, activists and eyewitnesses reported.



“The Islamic police of al-Hisba launched a campaign of arrests in central Mosul, looking for people who have broken Ramadan fast. They have arrested 22 civilians in the past two days,” reported local media activist Jabir Muntazir.



The ISIS-led Sharia Court of Mosul decided to punish the detainees in public.



“The victims were flogged with 30 lashes each,” Muntazir reported. “Hundreds of people watched the punishment.”



Also, the group has hanged five of the victims on electricity polls across Mosul. “They warned that fasting Ramadan is obligatory for all Muslims under the Caliphate,” an eyewitness said in Mosul, speaking on condition of anonymity.



CRUCIFIXION



This comes just one week after ISIS militants publicly flogged and crucified a number of civilians in the city of al-Mayadeen in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor province. “The ISIS-led Hisba Police arrested 11 people in Mayadeen for breaking the Ramadan fast. They were flogged with 50 lashes each, and then crucified in the market square downtown,” reported local media activist Yassir al-Farhan.



“ISIS is trying to terrorise the people through conducting such punishments in public,” the source said.



Eyewitnesses reported that an ISIS official from the Sharia Court of Deir ez-Zor read a statement to the public before flogging and crucifying the victims, saying there is no excuse for any Muslim citizen to break the fast of holy Ramadan.



Similar cases were reported in the city of Abu Kamal, where ISIS militants punished at least eight civilians by crucifying them on electricity poles for deliberately breaking fast.



Media activist Saray ad-Din reported from Deir ez-Zor that since the start of Ramadan, ISIS brutal crackdown on civilians has mounted in the province.



“According to ISIS rules, every citizen, no matter his/her age or health condition, is obliged to fast Ramadan, otherwise would be punished by flogging and crucifixion,” the local activist said.









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