Releases ordered in rape case

Twelve men imprisoned in connection with one of Pakistan's most notorious rape cases must be released by Monday, a court has ordered. The case centres on Mukhtar Mai who was gang raped in 2002 allegedly on the orders of a tribal council to punish a crime attributed to her brother.

The case brought women's rights in Pakistan under international focus.

It has become bogged down in a number of appeals and counter-appeals over the men's guilt.

'No justification'

At present 12 men are behind bars following an order by the Punjab provincial government in March that ordered their detention for 90 days.

That period ends on Monday and the Lahore High Court has now ruled that there are no grounds for extending their detention.

"The review board (of the Lahore High Court) has held that there is no justification for the detention of these people and has ordered their release after depositing surety bonds of 50,000 rupees ($840) from each of them," Malik Saleem, a lawyer for the 12 men, told the Reuters news agency.

Ms Mai says she will try to get the authorities to prevent the men's release.

This is the latest twist in a number of legal developments:


2002: Six men sentenced to death, eight acquitted

March 2005 - Lahore high court acquits five men, and reduces death sentence on sixth to life in prison

March 2005 - Sharia court suspends Lahore high court decision

March 2005 - Prime Minister Aziz orders re-arrest of four of the accused

March 2005 - Punjab government arrests 12 men originally implicated in case

June 2005 - Lahore high court says 12 men must be released
The attack on Ms Mai took place in the village of Meerwala, in southern Punjab province, in February 2002.

Ms Mai has used donations she has received since her case gained international attention to open a school there. There was outrage among women's groups last March when the Lahore High Court acquitted those found guilty of the rape by an anti-terrorism court.

The Lahore court ruled that there was insufficient evidence and incorrect investigation procedures in the case.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4081808.stm

Pakistan votes to change rape law

Found at: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/433D0A50-47A3-4995-8B5B-770AFE71B16A.htm

Pakistan's parliament has voted to amend controversial laws on rape, removing it from the sole jurisdiction of religious Sharia courts and placing it under the civil penal code.


The change makes it easier for victims of rape to prosecute their attackers and has been praised by the Pakistani president.





Pervez Musharraf said the vote was necessary to amend the "unjust rape laws" and helped improve women’s rights.


The change however met with strong opposition by politicians from conservative Islamic parties, who stormed out of the parliament chamber in protest.

They are angry at what they say is the curtailment of Islamic law.


The changes must still be approved by the Pakistani senate in order to take effect.

Unfair treatment


Under the Protection of Women Bill, judges will now have the discretion to try rape cases in a criminal rather than an Islamic court.


Until now, rape victims had to produce four – usually male - witnesses to the rape in order to result in a conviction. If not, they could themselves be prosecuted for adultery.


"We are fully aware of the fact that we still have a lot more to do"

Shaukat Aziz,
Pakistani prime minister

The laws formed part of the Hudood Ordinances introduced in 1979 by Pakistan’s then military ruler, Zia-ul-Haq.


The changes, if approved, will allow convictions to be made on the basis of forensic and circumstantial evidence.


Shaukat Aziz, the Pakistani prime minister, said after the vote would "help lessen to a great extent the unfair and illegal treatment meted out to women".


But, he added, "we are fully aware of the fact that we still have a lot more to do."


Women’s rights groups meanwhile have given the vote a cautious welcome.


"We wanted a total repeal of the 1979 rape law, but the government has not done it," Hina Jillani, a leading Pakistani activist, told the Associated Press news agency.


Conservative opposition politicians have said they will fight to make sure the bill does not pass the senate stage.


"We reject it," said Malaun Fazlur Rahman, head of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Islamic Party of Religious Leaders).

He said the vote was a "dark day" for Pakistan.

Soldier Pleads Guilty in Iraq killings

The following article is posted on CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/15/iraq.slaying.ap/index.html

How incredibly sick. 14 Years old. By an individual who is supposed to protect our country?

FORT CAMPBELL, Kentucky (AP) -- One of four U.S. soldiers accused of raping an Iraqi girl last spring and killing her and her family pleaded guilty Wednesday and will testify against the others.

Spc. James P. Barker agreed to the plea deal to avoid the death penalty, said his civilian attorney, David Sheldon.

The killings in Mahmoudiya, a village about 20 miles south of Baghdad, were among the worst in a series of alleged attacks on civilians and other abuses by military personnel in Iraq.

Sgt. Paul E. Cortez and Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman, both members of the 101st Airborne Division with Barker, could face the death penalty if convicted in the case in courts-martial at Fort Campbell.

The alleged ringleader, former Army private Steve Green, 21, pleaded not guilty last week to charges including murder and sexual assault.

Green was discharged from the Army for a "personality disorder" before the allegations became known, and prosecutors have yet to say if they will pursue the death penalty against him.

The indictment accuses Green and others of raping the girl and burning her body to conceal their crimes. It also alleges that Green and four others stationed at a nearby checkpoint killed the girl's father, mother and 6-year-old sister.

Barker has given investigators vivid accounts of the assault.

Duke Case: Durham Is NOT an Appropriate Jury Trial Venue

Interesting link I ran across.

http://www.michnews.com/artman/publish/article_14798.shtml

Thought I would share.

Inspiration

Life is a pure flame,
and we live by an invisible sun within us.

Sir Thomas Brown

As I grow to understand life less and less,
I learn to love it more and more.
Jules Renard

Nothing is predestined: The obstacles of your past can

become the gateways that lead to new beginnings.

Ralph Blum

To find what you seek in the road of life, the best proverb of all is that which says:

"Leave no stone unturned."

Edward Bulwer Lytton

Happy are those who dream dreams

and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.

Leon J. Suenes

The first step in the acquisition of wisdom is silence, the second listening,

the third memory, the fourth practice, the fifth teaching others.

Solomon Ibn Gabriol

Years teach us more than books.

Berthold Auerbach

The only medicine for suffering, crime, and all the

other woes of mankind, is wisdom.

Thomas Huxley

It is better to light one candle

than to curse the darkness.

Chinese Proverb

When one door closes another opens. But often we look so long so regretfully

upon the closed door that we fail to see the one

that has opened for us.

Helen Keller

The first and greatest commandment is,

Don't let them scare you.

Elmer Davis