a Somali court handed death sentences to three men convicted...

a Somali court handed death sentences to three men convicted of kidnapping a British national working for a Canadian oil firm in the breakaway region of Puntland, an official said. "The three defendants were sentenced to death after they were found guilty of being kidnappers," said Mohamed Abdi Aware, head of the supreme court in the Puntland port town of Bosasso. A fourth suspect was handed a 15-year prison term in absentia for assisting the trio in kidnapping Carl Fletcher, who worked for Africa Oil Corporation, in Puntland on October 8. Security forces freed him hours later. Puntland usually executes its death row convicts by firing squad.