The Supreme Court of Pakistan dismissed Thursday, April 21, an appeal by Mukhtar Mai, whose rape for "honor killing" had raised the alarm in the international public in 2002. This decision thus leads to the release of five of the six men that the young woman designated as his assailants. They were detained pending that decision.
The country's highest court also upheld the sentence of life imprisonment imposed on the principal accused of rape. However, it should be released after ten years of detention, as is often the case in Pakistan. "I do not expect a decision as cruel by the Supreme Court," responded Mukhtar Mai, who reported receiving death threats.
"For me, this is the beginning of a new war against the system", "I'm not afraid of anything," said the victim, now aged 40 years. Mukhtar Mai was raped by several men on the decision of a tribal council in Meerwala, a village in Punjab province, after his younger brother was accused of having an affair with a woman from a rival clan.
These claims about the young man, 12 years at the time, were never substantiated. A local court had initially sentenced to death six men for the rape, but in March 2005, the High Court of Lahore, capital of Punjab, had acquitted five and commuted the sentence of the main accused, Abdul Khaliq, to life imprisonment.
Today campaigner for the protection of women to tribal traditions, Mukhtar Mai still lives in Meerwala. In announcing the decision, she said she would not challenge this, as the law permits, however. "I do not trust any other justice than that of Allah. I left the matter in his hands," she quit.
Dozens of people demonstrated Thursday afternoon in Multan, in Punjab, to protest the decision of the Supreme Court and seek "justice for Mukhtar Mai," the call of several civil society organizations. The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has responded, denouncing a decision that is "not to honor the Supreme Court" and "highlights the profound bias" of the Pakistani judicial system, especially against the rights women.
This is all the more regrettable that in this case, "the crime took place in public and the culprits have been clearly identified," said HRW. According to the Aurat Foundation, which works to defend women in Pakistan, nearly a thousand of them were raped, abducted more than two miles and nearly fifteen hundred victims of murder in the country in 2010.
Five hundred others were victims of "honor killings", a tribal tradition that allows including the murder of a woman if she is suspected of having had an extramarital affair. 
The country's highest court also upheld the sentence of life imprisonment imposed on the principal accused of rape. However, it should be released after ten years of detention, as is often the case in Pakistan. "I do not expect a decision as cruel by the Supreme Court," responded Mukhtar Mai, who reported receiving death threats.
"For me, this is the beginning of a new war against the system", "I'm not afraid of anything," said the victim, now aged 40 years. Mukhtar Mai was raped by several men on the decision of a tribal council in Meerwala, a village in Punjab province, after his younger brother was accused of having an affair with a woman from a rival clan.
These claims about the young man, 12 years at the time, were never substantiated. A local court had initially sentenced to death six men for the rape, but in March 2005, the High Court of Lahore, capital of Punjab, had acquitted five and commuted the sentence of the main accused, Abdul Khaliq, to life imprisonment.
Today campaigner for the protection of women to tribal traditions, Mukhtar Mai still lives in Meerwala. In announcing the decision, she said she would not challenge this, as the law permits, however. "I do not trust any other justice than that of Allah. I left the matter in his hands," she quit.
Dozens of people demonstrated Thursday afternoon in Multan, in Punjab, to protest the decision of the Supreme Court and seek "justice for Mukhtar Mai," the call of several civil society organizations. The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has responded, denouncing a decision that is "not to honor the Supreme Court" and "highlights the profound bias" of the Pakistani judicial system, especially against the rights women.
This is all the more regrettable that in this case, "the crime took place in public and the culprits have been clearly identified," said HRW. According to the Aurat Foundation, which works to defend women in Pakistan, nearly a thousand of them were raped, abducted more than two miles and nearly fifteen hundred victims of murder in the country in 2010.
Five hundred others were victims of "honor killings", a tribal tradition that allows including the murder of a woman if she is suspected of having had an extramarital affair.
- What is the full name for a double bass (21/03/2011)
- Marin Marais - La Rêveuse, & autres pièces de viole (Sophie Watillon) (25/03/2011)
- Paris’ Future Plans - Collectif et alors Unveils a Gloriously Green Paris for the Year 2100 (TrendHunter.com) (19/04/2011)
- Goldberg Variations/Fretwork - review (08/03/2011)
- FDA Issues Non-Binding Criteria for Executive Crimes (18/02/2011)
No comments:
Post a Comment