May 17
CUBA:
Cuba without Condemned to Death and against its Application
Cuba expressed today in the context of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of
human rights its rejection of the death penalty and the disposition to
eliminate from its legislation that sanction that has not been applied since
2003.
When intervening in the exercise of the UPR, one of the main mechanisms of the
Human Rights Council, the vice president of the Supreme Court of Cuba, Oscar
Silvera, also pointed out that there is no condemned to this punishment, which
has never been imposed on women or minors.
Silvera stated that the Penal Code establishes the death penalty among its
sanctions, exceptionally for cases of very serious crimes, and mentioned the
will to eliminate it when the conditions propitiate it.
We have been forced to this, with strict adherence to legality, judicial
guarantees and the right to self-defense, to prevent and confront terrorist
activities and crimes against the lives of its citizens, he pointed out.
According to the Cuban government, the terrorism executed against the Caribbean
country has left more than 5,000 victims, among them nearly 3,500 fatalities,
in actions framed in the regime change promoted and financed from the United
States.
In the process of the UPR, several nations recognized the moratorium of Cuba in
the application of the maximum penalty, and some of them requested its total
elimination.
(source: Prensa Latina)
SUDAN:
Lawyer for Sudanese teen who killed her rapist facing intimidation
5 days after a 19-year-old Sudanese woman was sentenced to death for killing
the man she was forced to marry, her lawyer was barred from holding a news
conference amid an intensifying campaign of intimidation, activists told CNN.
Noura Hussein was imprisoned in Omdurman, Sudan, last year after fatally
stabbing her husband, who she says raped her as his relatives held her down.
On Wednesday, Sudanese security forces came to the office of Hussein's lead
attorney, Adil Mohamed Al-Imam, just hours before he was due to brief the media
on the latest developments in the case, activists said.
"The National Intelligence Security Services 'NISS' banned the press conference
and ordered Noura's defense team to cancel it," Nahid Gabralla, director of
SEEMA, a non-governmental organization working with victims and survivors of
gender-based violence in the capital, Khartoum, said in a statement.
Women's rights activist Amal Habani, coordinator of No Oppression Against Women
Initiative Sudan, also confirmed that security forces came to Al-Imam's office
Wednesday morning. Both Habani and and Gabralla were in touch with Al-Imam on
Wednesday.
The Sudanese government has not responded to CNN requests for comment on the
lawyer or the underlying case.
Activists and local journalists say it's the latest effort to prevent the media
from reporting on the case and to intimidate Hussein's defense team. Her case
has shone a spotlight on the issues of forced marriage and marital rape in
Sudan, where the legal age of marriage is only 10 and marital rape is legal.
Her lawyers have until May 25 to appeal.
Activist: Hussein 'is still strong'
Gabralla last saw Hussein 2 days ago when she visited her at the women's prison
in Omdurman.
"This is the first time I saw her after the sentence. She was wearing a long
dress and shackles," Gabralla told CNN. "It is very hard for her. She was
crying, but she is still strong and happy that people are supporting her case."
In Omdurman women's prison, a tight-knit sisterhood has formed around Hussein.
Activists who have visited her there say that other inmates have rallied around
her.
A group of activists trying to visit Hussein in prison were turned away on
Tuesday, Amnesty International's Sudan researcher, Ahmed Elzobier, told CNN.
"There is a lot of pressure on the government, now that the EU, UN Women, and
other agencies have issued a very strong statement," Elzobier said. "But
unusually they (Sudanese government) have not issued a response. They're
keeping their heads down amid all the exposure."
The European Union Delegation issued a statement on Hussein's case on Tuesday
underlining their opposition to the death penalty and forced marriage. Amnesty
International is petitioning for the Sudanese government to repeal the death
penalty against Hussein, and allow her a retrial.
The harrowing details of Hussein's case have set social media and WhatsApp
ablaze in Sudan. And in recent days the case has captured international
attention with the hashtags #JusticeforNoura and #SaveNoura. Thousands of
people have shared a change.org petition.
Forced to marry at 15, Hussein ran away from home and sought refuge with her
aunt for three years. She was tricked into returning by her father, who handed
her over to her husband's family.
After Hussein refused to consummate the marriage, her husband's relatives held
her down while he raped her. "His brother and two cousins tried to reason with
her, when she refused she was slapped and ordered into the room. One held her
chest and head, the others held her legs," Al-Imam, her lawyer, told CNN last
week.
A day later her husband tried to rape her again, and she stabbed him to death.
When she went to her parents for support, they turned her in to the police.
Al-Imam said last week that the case has challenged societal expectations in
Sudan that wives should submit to their husbands.
But it has also highlighted gaps in Sudan's national law, Elzobier said. "The
good thing about this case is it brings up a lot of laws that need to change --
specifically rape and child marriage laws."
Gabralla agreed: "In my work I've seen other cases like this. The suffering of
Sudanese women is happening all the time. But the case of Noura is different.
She stood for her rights."
(source: CNN)
INDIA:
Jammu and Kashmir Governor approves ordinance on death penalty to child
rapists----Committing rape on a woman under sixteen years of age has been made
punishable with rigorous imprisonment for 20 years and may extend to life
sentence, which shall mean remainder of that person's natural life
Jammu and Kashmir Governor approves ordinance on death penalty to child
rapistsJK Governor approves ordinance on death penalty to child rapists
Governor N. N. Vohra has promulgated the Jammu and Kashmir Criminal Law
(Amendment) Ordinance, 2018 and the Jammu and Kashmir Protection of Children
from Sexual Violence Ordinance, 2018.
In view of the surge in violence against women in general and sexual violence
in particular in various parts of the country, including the State of J&K, need
was felt to carry out certain amendments in the Criminal Laws (the Ranbir Penal
Code, Samvat, 1989; the Code of Criminal Procedure, Samvat, 1989; and the
Evidence Act, Samvat, 1977) on the analogy of the amendments made in the
Central Criminal Law in 2018, said an official spokesman.
The Jammu and Kashmir Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018 seeks to amend:
(i) the Ranbir Penal Code, Samvat, 1989; (ii) the Code of Criminal Procedure
Samvat 1989; and (iii) the Evidence Act, Samvat, 1977.
The salient features of the aforesaid Ordinance include:
Committing rape on a woman under 16 years of age has been made punishable with
rigorous imprisonment for 20 years and may extend to life sentence, which shall
mean remainder of that person's natural life
Committing rape on a woman under 12 years of age has been made punishable with
death sentence
Gang Rape on a woman under 16 years of age has been made punishable with
imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that
person's natural life
Gang Rape on woman under 12 years of age has been made punishable with death
sentence
Investigation in such cases is to be completed within a period of 2 months
Trial to be completed within six months and reasons for any delay shall need to
be communicated to the High Court
It has been provided that no Bail shall be granted without hearing the Public
Prosecutor.
The salient features of the Jammu and Kashmir Protection of Children from
Sexual Violence Ordinance, 2018 are:
It is a comprehensive Legislation which, inter-alia, provides for protection of
Children from offenses of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography
with due regard for safeguarding the interest of the child and the well being
of a child at every stage of the judicial process
It provides for alternative punishment for an act or omission constituting an
offence under the Ordinance and also under various provisions of the State
Penal Code relating to sexual assault.
The Ordinance contains provisions relating to child friendly procedures and
reporting, recording of evidence, investigation and trial of offences
It also provides for provisions relating to establishment of Special Courts for
speedy trial of such offences
It makes it mandatory for the educational institutions to ensure safety and
protection of children and not to expose them to any kind of sexual abuse.
"While according approval to the aforesaid two Ordinances the Governor has
advised stringent enforcement by the Home Department which should establish a
system for regular monitoring of all cases registered under these Ordinances,"
said the spokesman.
(source: Greater Kashmir)
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