AFGHANISTAN: COURT DELIVERS DEATH SENTENCE TO KILLER OF TWO AID WORKERS

January 18, 2015: A court in Afghanistan sentenced to death a man convicted of killing two Finnish aid workers last year, an official said.
The two women were working with the International Assistance Mission, a Christian humanitarian group, when they were shot dead inside their car by unknown gunmen in July in the western city of Herat.
Three people were arrested in connection with the crime.
The provincial court in Herat sentenced the killer to death while one accomplice was given five years in prison and a second accomplice two-and-a-half years, said provincial police spokesman Abdul Raouf Ahmadi.
It was not clear whether the killers were linked to the Taliban. In recent years Herat has seen an upsurge in criminal activities, with dozens of kidnappings and murders.
The International Assistance Mission employs 500 Afghan staff and 50 Christians from Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and Oceania, according to its website.
They have worked on development, education and health projects in Afghanistan since 1966. (Sources: dpa, 18/01/2015)