4 – The Jordanian Penal Code
AMMAN – A Jordanian who killed his divorced sister over rumors that she had a lover was cleared of premeditated murder because he acted in a ‘fit of rage,’ after his family dropped charges. The verdict was handed down Wednesday, five months after the 19-year-old university student shot to death his 22-year-old sister, 10 minutes after he was told that she had a lover out of wedlock, quoting court papers. The student received a three month jail sentence and walked free for time already served. ‘The 10 minute interval between hearing of his sister’s immoral actions and meeting her face-to-face is proof that he did not plot the murder,’ a court statement said. The young man had turned himself in to the police after the murder claiming that he acted to ‘cleanse the family’s honor’ and initially received a six month prison sentence. But the court slashed the verdict by half and changed the charge from premeditated murder to a misdemeanor ‘because the defendant killed his sister in a fit of rage,” in line with Article 98 of he penal code. It also argued that the ‘victim brought disgrace to her family and the defendant and tarnished their honor [because] her actions were against religion and social norms’ in the conservative Muslim country. The court said that it also opted for a reduced sentence ‘because his family dropped the charges against him and because he is a student.’ Medical sources however, said that an autopsy performed on the victim after the murder showed that the woman had not been sexually active before she was killed. But the court continued: ‘It is possible the victim had changed her clothes…before she was killed to hide evidence that would show she was engaged in an illegitimate affair’ (Jordan Times 02/01/2007)
The Jordanian judicial system has sought to control the practice of honor crimes, while also attempting to restrain the emergence of new "subversive" sexual types. Yet, crimes may be a response to these new sexual practices (i.e. open homosexuality, sex outside the context of marriage, etc) that are often seen as not only sinful, but shameful to society. The judicial system reacts to not only the violence, but also the unusual sexual practices by seeking to control both through crimes of honor by allowing them to continue to a certain degree so asocial individuals understand how devastating their actions may be to not only themselves, but their family as well. Divergent sexual types emerge as a response to the balance between both types of violence, social and official. In saying, a crime of honor is not merely an act that is created in a vacuum, but a cycle that feeds off of volatile social issues within a culture, such as a societies need to suppress issues it sees as unstable and immoral (Abu-Odeh 141).
The Jordanian Penal Code (no. 16, 1960), Article 340, first of three listed as, "Excuse in Murder":
i) He who catches his wife, or one of his female unlawfuls committing adultery with another, and he kills, wounds, or injures one or both of them, is exempt from any penalty.
ii) He who catches his wife, or one of his female ascendants or descendants or sisters with another in an unlawful bed, and he kills or wounds or injures one or both of them, benefits from a reduction of penalty.
The historical and structural origins of this article come from three separate countries that made an impact on the early effects of the modernization of Jordan. The article itself is a combination of the French Penal Code of 1810 and the Ottoman Penal Code of 1858. Article 324 of the French Penal Code was abolished by Article 17, Law no. 617/75 issued on the 7th of November 1975:
Porra beneficier d'une excuse absolutoire quiconque, ayant surprise son conjoint, son ascendante, sa descendante ou sa soeur en flagrant delit d'adultere ou de rapports sexuels illegitimes avec un tiers se sera rendu coupable seu la personne de l'un ou l'autre de es derniers, d'homicide ou de lesion non premedites.
L'auteur de l'homicide ou de la lesion pourra beneficier d'une excuse attenuante s'il a surprise son anjoint, son ascendante, sa descendante ou sa soeur avec un tiers dans une attitude equivoque.
"In order to have an absolute excuse for a person who has committed adultery or sexual intercourse out of wedlock he needs to have told about this misdeed to his spouse, his parent, his child, or his sister. By doing that the fault of the crime is transmitted to the person with whom he slept.
If a person who has committed a murder or injury to a person who has committed adultery, has warned or has told to his spouse, his parent, his child, or his sister about his intentions, this confession becomes an extenuating circumstance in his case."
Article 188 of the Ottoman Penal Code states:
He who has seen his wife or any of his female unlawfuls with another in a state of zina' (meaning "adultery", referring to illicit sexual relations whether the party is married or not within the Shari'a, Islamic Law) and then beat, injured, or killed one or both of them will be exempt from penalty. And he who has seen his wife or one of his female unlawfuls with another in an unlawful bed and then beat, injured or killed one or both of them, will be excused (Abu-Odeh 143).
Article 340 assumes the terms, "female unlawfuls" and "unlawful bed" from the Ottoman Penal Code; and from the French Penal Code it takes the phrase "ascendante, descendante," and "une excuse attenuante", which is a reduction of sentencing. French terminology is also used that subsequently benefits only men (fathers, husbands, and brothers) who find themselves in such circumstances (Abu-Odeh 144-145).
The structure itself of the Jordanian Criminal Code is taken directly from that of the Egyptian jurisprudence. Since Egypt is seen as the birthplace of Arab jurisprudence and also where it is thought to be most developed, it was adopted almost without change in numerous Arab countries, including Jordan. This has made it nearly as untouchable as the Islamic Hadiths in realms of tradition, and rather than being critiqued and made to stand as an independent historical subject, it has been followed and imitated for nearly a hundred years. This in itself carries the processes of tribal mentality (i.e. the values that play into that of an agonistic culture; supporting the honor of a tribe, family, or in-group seeking to reduce the chance of shame.) into modern day judicial systems, which continue to violate essential human rights (Abu-Odeh 145-146, 157, Malina 1993).
Commentators on the subject of the Egyptian court agreed that three conditions must be met before the article is to apply to a defendant: 1) the defendant must be related to the victim as father, husband or brother. 2) Surprising the victim in the act, thus having proof, and not basing deeds on rumors. 3) The act of killing itself has to be immediate and impulsive. On this note the Egyptian Court of Cassation decided that if a man tried to kill his wife/daughter/sister after her discovery and she escapes to her family and he finds her two hours later and kills her he is not to benefit from the reduction in penalty – At that point it is no longer seen as an act of passion that did not have premeditation. As is seen by this and many other examples, the Egyptian provisions apply more to cases of passion than to cases of traditional honor. Holding true to this form the Jordanian code also finds it necessary for the element of passion to be involved in the murder, once again an aspect that is not part of the traditional view of honor in the honor/shame society of the Arab world (Abu-Odeh 147).
For a crime that is committed out of passion, there must be an intimate relationship between the two people to place substance in the emotions that are being felt. The misconduct of one or the other is seen as a personal assault to an individual's feelings, instead of their public reputation that would become something shameful to the family and community. Thus, it has less to do with honor, and more to do with a personal relationship that is between two individuals. For example, a traditional crime of honor would be the murder of a bride on her wedding night when she has not been found to be a virgin; at which point the family's reputation is at stake and it is the duty of the men in the family to cleanse this honor with her blood (Abu-Odeh 155).
Because the honor/shame social system of the Middle East produces what is called "honor crimes" the legal system seeks to intervene in the way it sees best. Since they are also coming from the same honor/shame mentality some crimes are legitimized while others are not. In the end governmental attempts to strike a balance between both crimes of passion and crimes of honor, while seeking to subdue various aspects of female sexuality that is traditionally seen as haram, or sin (Abu-Odeh 148-149).
In looking at real cases from 1953-1982, one is hard pressed to see any of this holding any significance in the light of the actual dealings of honor crimes. Between the years of 1953 and 1965 Article 333 (changed to 340 in 1960) was never used in relation to honor crimes, because a different article was favored by the judges of the time. Article 93 (which changed to 98 in 1960) states:
He who commits a crime in a fit of fury caused by an unrightful and dangerous act on the part of the victim benefits from a reduction of penalty.
The Jordanian Court of Cassation (JCC) began to debate against the application of Article 98 beginning in 1953. First and foremost, in the cases of the time it did not appear that the victim's behavior was an "unrightful and dangerous act" against the defendant with regards to Article 98. The JCC found that nothing less than "a minor case of self-defense" would justify applying this article. In 1954 the JCC began to take a different approach by stating that Article 98 was general and Article 340 was specific, so Article 340 should be used on the specific crime it was meant for. Yet, in 1964 there was a change in the JCC's position, as it was decided that there were not any problems with applying Article 98 to honor crimes that were committed in a state of fury. It was at this point in the Jordanian legal history that a man's honor became synonymous with himself and the court saw the victim's acts as an unrightful act against the defendant and his honor.
A 1975 decision exemplified this change when the JCC stated: "The victim's act of adultery is a material act that touches the defendant's honor and that is why it is not a violation of the law to grant him a reduction in penalty." It was after this massive change in the system that the JCC became concerned with three issues regarding honor crimes: 1) the nature of the victim’s act itself; is it an unrightful act against the family's honor? 2) The passage of time between the defendant's knowledge of the victim's unrightful act and the killing. 3) The defendant's knowledge of the victim's act. In 1978 a court case found an illegitimate pregnancy to fit these criteria, because it was of a "dangerous nature according to our society's traditions." In 1973 a man killed his sister a day after he learned rumors of her licentious behavior were true and the court granted him a reduction in sentence. They deemed it an insufficient time for a man to gain his senses, regardless of the fact that the Egyptian court cases, that Jordanian law is modeled after, found two hours too much of a time lapse for a reduction in sentencing based on the contingency that it was a crime of fury. A 1981 case where the defendant murdered his sister after only hearing rumors, did not find the man applicable for the reduction in penalty, but a 1970 case where a man asked his sister about rumors and had them confirmed was granted the reduction (Abu-Odeh 157-160).
25 February 2008
Thesis Chapter 3
3 – The Influence of Economic Status on Culture and Tradition
On September 29th, 2006 in Amman, Jordan two boys confessed to murdering their sister for reasons related to family honor two weeks previously, and then dumped her body in a canal in Karak. A shepherd initially discovered the woman’s body clad only in undergarments, but officials later found her clothes stained with blood and coroners detected light burn marks on her body as well as traces of gasoline. Her family had not reported her missing, and investigators fear there may be a male victim whose body was not found. The initial investigation found that the brothers drove their sister from Irbid to a deserted area near the Queen Alia International Airport outside of Amman, beat her up, and then strangled her, later dumping her body in Karak where they tried to set it on fire to cover their traces. A source told the Jordan Times that, “The suspects claimed they were cleansing their family’s honor because their sister often left the house without their permission and her behavior brought them disgrace.” Three months previously the victim, who was twenty-two at the time of her death, had been referred to the administrative governor after her father and two brothers beat her up, the source also said. On October 6th a twenty-six year old man was charged with the premeditated murder and attempted burning of his younger sister, though earlier reports indicated that other family members were involved. The suspect claimed to have acted alone and he only strangled her after medical examinations proved she was not a virgin, though medical reports indicated that from the extent of injuries sustained she had been sexually assaulted (Jordan Times).
Ghosson Rahal, a lawyer and independent researcher, thought that economic status played an important role for both the perpetrator and the victim. In a study done by the Human Forum for Women's Rights (HFWR) in 1998 31% of victim's families feel into an income range of 101-150 Jordanian Dinar (JD) a month, which supported on average a family of seven. Likewise, 32% of perpetrator's families lived on a monthly income of 50-100 JD (Nasser 17, 21). It also must be noted that people of a lower economic status often are the bearers of tradition and it is those of a higher economic status that abandon traditional norms for modern values that promote achievement and egalitarianism (Ingelhart).
On a positive note, it is the higher economic status Jordanian families that has allowed for the liberation of women . More women are entering university each year and proving that they are just as valuable as their male counterparts . While families still hope for sons, it is no longer the shame and disappointment it once was to have daughters .
On September 29th, 2006 in Amman, Jordan two boys confessed to murdering their sister for reasons related to family honor two weeks previously, and then dumped her body in a canal in Karak. A shepherd initially discovered the woman’s body clad only in undergarments, but officials later found her clothes stained with blood and coroners detected light burn marks on her body as well as traces of gasoline. Her family had not reported her missing, and investigators fear there may be a male victim whose body was not found. The initial investigation found that the brothers drove their sister from Irbid to a deserted area near the Queen Alia International Airport outside of Amman, beat her up, and then strangled her, later dumping her body in Karak where they tried to set it on fire to cover their traces. A source told the Jordan Times that, “The suspects claimed they were cleansing their family’s honor because their sister often left the house without their permission and her behavior brought them disgrace.” Three months previously the victim, who was twenty-two at the time of her death, had been referred to the administrative governor after her father and two brothers beat her up, the source also said. On October 6th a twenty-six year old man was charged with the premeditated murder and attempted burning of his younger sister, though earlier reports indicated that other family members were involved. The suspect claimed to have acted alone and he only strangled her after medical examinations proved she was not a virgin, though medical reports indicated that from the extent of injuries sustained she had been sexually assaulted (Jordan Times).
Ghosson Rahal, a lawyer and independent researcher, thought that economic status played an important role for both the perpetrator and the victim. In a study done by the Human Forum for Women's Rights (HFWR) in 1998 31% of victim's families feel into an income range of 101-150 Jordanian Dinar (JD) a month, which supported on average a family of seven. Likewise, 32% of perpetrator's families lived on a monthly income of 50-100 JD (Nasser 17, 21). It also must be noted that people of a lower economic status often are the bearers of tradition and it is those of a higher economic status that abandon traditional norms for modern values that promote achievement and egalitarianism (Ingelhart).
On a positive note, it is the higher economic status Jordanian families that has allowed for the liberation of women . More women are entering university each year and proving that they are just as valuable as their male counterparts . While families still hope for sons, it is no longer the shame and disappointment it once was to have daughters .
Thesis Chapter 2
2 -Definition and Predominance of Honor Crimes
“The definition of ‘crimes of honour’ is by no means straightforward, and the imprecison and ‘exoticisation’ (in particular in the West) of its use are among the reasons for caution in use of the phrase. At it’s most basic, the term is commonly used as shorthand, to flag a type of violence against women characterized by (claimed) ‘motivation’ rather than by perpetrator […] Definitions tend to be by way of illustration; thus, in a highly significant article on ‘crimes of honour’ and the construction of gender in the Arab world, Lama Abu Odeh explains that a paradigm example of a crime of honour is the killing of a woman by her father or brother for engaging in, or being suspected of engaging in, sexual practices before or outside of marriage (Welchman and Hossain).”
Numerous communications discussing honor crimes are reported to the United Nations (UN) each year, and in this circumstance honor is defined in the context of a women’s sexual and familial roles as dictated by the family, who are consequently directed by social and cultural norms. Adultery, premarital relationships – whether they may or may not include sex – rape and falling in love outside of an engagement may all be considered violations of sharaf al-‘aylah , or family honor. A woman’s virginity is of great importance to her family, as not only their honor is tied to it, but also rights of inheritance and the continuance of family lines (Welchman & Hossain 4-5).
Traditionally speaking, the virginity of the women in a household is the center of the male gender identity, especially for the eldest brother. It is his job to guard, chaperone, and defend against possible social wrongs on his sister's part. To be a man is to engage in daily activities that were an important part of insuring the virginity of those women who are part of their family. In the Arab culture, a man is that person whose sister's virginity is a social question for him. Because a man is seen to have a certain amount of ownership over his women folk he is easily shamed by her actions, and may resort to killing her to regain his position in society as a strong man. Without this action he may be seen as an effeminate; a wimp, a girl, or a ninny; that cannot perform the most basic expectations in life. These fears, also known as "castration anxiety” , speak of a psychological battle that may be waged within the man, finally forcing him to act out to bring peace to his own state of mind (Cogan, Porcerelli, & Dromgoole). These men who have been raised to be "macho, heartless, purposeful, conquering, and triumphant over women" may feel conflicted because they have been raised in a traditionally conservative fashion (Abu-Odeh 151-153).
In his book, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander Thomas Merton defines spiritual virginity as, “a point untouched by illusion, a point of pure truth ... which belongs entirely to God, which is inaccessible to the fantasies of our own mind or the brutalities of our own will. This little point ... of absolute poverty is the pure glory of God in us." Since all Arabic nations are infused with a heady dose of Islam it is safe to say that at least to some degree the family’s spirituality is wrapped up in their daughter’s virginity, or at least in the idea of an all pervasive innocence that allows for the lessons of the Qur’an and Hadith to seep in untainted. When this illusion is burst by rumor or action a sense of disillusion in not only religion, but in everything the culture has taught the family through generations may pervade daily life (Norris).
Sharon Lang states in her ethnography,
“A ‘family honor (sharaf al-‘aylah) killing’ cane be defined generally as a premeditated murder of a girl or woman, committed by her brother, father, or combination of male agnates in the name of restoring the family’s social reputation […] The transgression of a woman, who defies her kin group by not marrying the proper spouse, or by committing some sexual offense, is a deeply-felt, fundamental violation of Arab norms and values. Once the family’s reputation has been damaged in this way, the sister or daughter involved is in danger of being killed. The killer, most often the woman’s brother, perceives his action as ghassal is-sharaf or ‘cleaning the honor,’ masaha buqa’a sharaf al-‘a’ileh, ‘wiping away a stain on the family honor.’ Ironically this cleansing process is accomplished by the spilling of blood (dam)” (Lang 44-45).
The etymology of Arabic says a great deal about how the Arab people culturally view the place of women within their society. “Haram!” Is a word that is heard throughout the day in nearly every conversation. The general idea behind the word when used in an informal conversation is shame or embarrassment, and may be used in reference to the skyrocketing price of gas, when a taxi driver is tries to cheat a passenger, when a man goes beyond his boundaries with a woman, scandalous conduct on television, bombings, etc. What is fascinating about Arabic is that each word is connected to a series of other words by the root word that forms that one particular word. The actual translation of haram is “forbidden,” but it is also connected to unlawful, excommunication, denied/refused, etc and while it is the root word it goes on to form the word ahataram, or to honor, venerate. The list continues with the “Sacred territory at Mecca”, al-harm. From these two polar opposites comes the word for both sacredness and wife – hurmah or juhram. A word that Westerners are used to hearing in reference to the Middle East is, harem, and this word is also connected to this line and translates as “the women of a household.” Throughout the history of the Arab people women have been seen as sacred, something that must be protected and held close to the hearth and home. If this sacredness is violated it becomes a blemish on the honor of the family, especially the males in the family who were charged with safeguarding this venerated sacred person in the household (Wortabet & Porter).
While women conventionally become victims of crimes of honor it is not unheard of for men to also be victimized as well. In 1998 in Sindh, Pakistan the Human Rights Commission investigated reports of 97 men and 158 women in karo-kari (honor crimes) (Welchman & Hossain 6). Individuals of homosexual orientation also have a high risk of becoming victims of honor crimes, as their behavior is seen as implicitly and overtly out of social boundaries.
Traditionally within Bedouin society if impropriety were suspected of a man and woman they would both be either killed for their crime against the tribe, or they would be ostracized together. It is only more recently with conflicts between the values of tradition and modernization that there has been a greater shift towards punishing the woman alone. Since most honor crimes come from the poorest and most over-crowded portions of cities and villages it is assumed that in the face of the confusion that can be caused by a rapid switch to modernization these people are desperately clinging to a way of life that has held meaning to their people for centuries (Adnan Abu-Odeh).
Purna Sen, in the book ‘Honour:’ Crimes, Paradigms and Violence against Women, edited by Lynn Welchman Sara Hossain lists six key concerns that need to stay at the forefront of the mind in regarding crimes of honor,
1) Gender relations that problematise and control women’s behaviours, shaping and controlling women’s sexuality in particular;
2) The role of women in policing and monitoring women’s behaviour;
3) Collective decisions regarding punishment, or in upholding the actions considered appropriate, for transgressions of these boundaries;
4) The potential for women’s participation in killings;
5) The ability to reclaim honour through enforced compliance or killings;
6) State sanction of such killings through recognition of honour as motivation and mitigation (Welchman & Hossain 50).
Each of these issues represents a major problem facing the societies where these crimes take place and as such must be addressed with all due concern from both those within the society and without.
In the West it is common to look at honor crimes and to automatically equate them with developing nations or countries where Islam is the predominant religion. Yet, research has shown time and again that it is not necessarily economics or religion that reinforces this behavior, but that of the “belt of classical patriarchy” or the principles in patriarchy that lead to domestic violence (Welchman & Hossain 47).
The issue of domestic violence, of which honor crimes are an uber example, is one that can be observed throughout the world’s cultures and societies, as well as throughout time. It is not limited to one specific culture, set of circumstances, or people, but sadly an issue that affects the entirety of humanity. As previously stated in the section on society and culture, great disparities still remain, and “in many places, most women’s lives remain wretched,” especially where there are rigid gender roles usually defined through patriarchy (Inglehart & Norris 3).
Where these crimes are most predominant are those countries that continue to struggle between the values of tradition and modernization. It is human nature to rapidly revert back to a safe and trusted way of life when change rears its head and in the case of countries where modernization has not come as easily (or where there may be warfare, famine, and other related hardships) as expected a trend of patriarchy and domestic violence becomes more apparent. This is particularly the case with older generations that find it harder to change their way of life and those younger generations who eagerly seek to adopt the new changes. A clash of values ensues, and in the case of women who are generally dependent on their families for numerous assets it is common to find them caught between two worlds. If the battle becomes such that social disgrace may occur (or has occurred) the father, brother, or uncle may resort to a forced marriage (which is vastly different from an arranged marriage that a woman willingly enters) or murder (Welchman & Hossain 46-47).
“The definition of ‘crimes of honour’ is by no means straightforward, and the imprecison and ‘exoticisation’ (in particular in the West) of its use are among the reasons for caution in use of the phrase. At it’s most basic, the term is commonly used as shorthand, to flag a type of violence against women characterized by (claimed) ‘motivation’ rather than by perpetrator […] Definitions tend to be by way of illustration; thus, in a highly significant article on ‘crimes of honour’ and the construction of gender in the Arab world, Lama Abu Odeh explains that a paradigm example of a crime of honour is the killing of a woman by her father or brother for engaging in, or being suspected of engaging in, sexual practices before or outside of marriage (Welchman and Hossain).”
Numerous communications discussing honor crimes are reported to the United Nations (UN) each year, and in this circumstance honor is defined in the context of a women’s sexual and familial roles as dictated by the family, who are consequently directed by social and cultural norms. Adultery, premarital relationships – whether they may or may not include sex – rape and falling in love outside of an engagement may all be considered violations of sharaf al-‘aylah , or family honor. A woman’s virginity is of great importance to her family, as not only their honor is tied to it, but also rights of inheritance and the continuance of family lines (Welchman & Hossain 4-5).
Traditionally speaking, the virginity of the women in a household is the center of the male gender identity, especially for the eldest brother. It is his job to guard, chaperone, and defend against possible social wrongs on his sister's part. To be a man is to engage in daily activities that were an important part of insuring the virginity of those women who are part of their family. In the Arab culture, a man is that person whose sister's virginity is a social question for him. Because a man is seen to have a certain amount of ownership over his women folk he is easily shamed by her actions, and may resort to killing her to regain his position in society as a strong man. Without this action he may be seen as an effeminate; a wimp, a girl, or a ninny; that cannot perform the most basic expectations in life. These fears, also known as "castration anxiety” , speak of a psychological battle that may be waged within the man, finally forcing him to act out to bring peace to his own state of mind (Cogan, Porcerelli, & Dromgoole). These men who have been raised to be "macho, heartless, purposeful, conquering, and triumphant over women" may feel conflicted because they have been raised in a traditionally conservative fashion (Abu-Odeh 151-153).
In his book, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander Thomas Merton defines spiritual virginity as, “a point untouched by illusion, a point of pure truth ... which belongs entirely to God, which is inaccessible to the fantasies of our own mind or the brutalities of our own will. This little point ... of absolute poverty is the pure glory of God in us." Since all Arabic nations are infused with a heady dose of Islam it is safe to say that at least to some degree the family’s spirituality is wrapped up in their daughter’s virginity, or at least in the idea of an all pervasive innocence that allows for the lessons of the Qur’an and Hadith to seep in untainted. When this illusion is burst by rumor or action a sense of disillusion in not only religion, but in everything the culture has taught the family through generations may pervade daily life (Norris).
Sharon Lang states in her ethnography,
“A ‘family honor (sharaf al-‘aylah) killing’ cane be defined generally as a premeditated murder of a girl or woman, committed by her brother, father, or combination of male agnates in the name of restoring the family’s social reputation […] The transgression of a woman, who defies her kin group by not marrying the proper spouse, or by committing some sexual offense, is a deeply-felt, fundamental violation of Arab norms and values. Once the family’s reputation has been damaged in this way, the sister or daughter involved is in danger of being killed. The killer, most often the woman’s brother, perceives his action as ghassal is-sharaf or ‘cleaning the honor,’ masaha buqa’a sharaf al-‘a’ileh, ‘wiping away a stain on the family honor.’ Ironically this cleansing process is accomplished by the spilling of blood (dam)” (Lang 44-45).
The etymology of Arabic says a great deal about how the Arab people culturally view the place of women within their society. “Haram!” Is a word that is heard throughout the day in nearly every conversation. The general idea behind the word when used in an informal conversation is shame or embarrassment, and may be used in reference to the skyrocketing price of gas, when a taxi driver is tries to cheat a passenger, when a man goes beyond his boundaries with a woman, scandalous conduct on television, bombings, etc. What is fascinating about Arabic is that each word is connected to a series of other words by the root word that forms that one particular word. The actual translation of haram is “forbidden,” but it is also connected to unlawful, excommunication, denied/refused, etc and while it is the root word it goes on to form the word ahataram, or to honor, venerate. The list continues with the “Sacred territory at Mecca”, al-harm. From these two polar opposites comes the word for both sacredness and wife – hurmah or juhram. A word that Westerners are used to hearing in reference to the Middle East is, harem, and this word is also connected to this line and translates as “the women of a household.” Throughout the history of the Arab people women have been seen as sacred, something that must be protected and held close to the hearth and home. If this sacredness is violated it becomes a blemish on the honor of the family, especially the males in the family who were charged with safeguarding this venerated sacred person in the household (Wortabet & Porter).
While women conventionally become victims of crimes of honor it is not unheard of for men to also be victimized as well. In 1998 in Sindh, Pakistan the Human Rights Commission investigated reports of 97 men and 158 women in karo-kari (honor crimes) (Welchman & Hossain 6). Individuals of homosexual orientation also have a high risk of becoming victims of honor crimes, as their behavior is seen as implicitly and overtly out of social boundaries.
Traditionally within Bedouin society if impropriety were suspected of a man and woman they would both be either killed for their crime against the tribe, or they would be ostracized together. It is only more recently with conflicts between the values of tradition and modernization that there has been a greater shift towards punishing the woman alone. Since most honor crimes come from the poorest and most over-crowded portions of cities and villages it is assumed that in the face of the confusion that can be caused by a rapid switch to modernization these people are desperately clinging to a way of life that has held meaning to their people for centuries (Adnan Abu-Odeh).
Purna Sen, in the book ‘Honour:’ Crimes, Paradigms and Violence against Women, edited by Lynn Welchman Sara Hossain lists six key concerns that need to stay at the forefront of the mind in regarding crimes of honor,
1) Gender relations that problematise and control women’s behaviours, shaping and controlling women’s sexuality in particular;
2) The role of women in policing and monitoring women’s behaviour;
3) Collective decisions regarding punishment, or in upholding the actions considered appropriate, for transgressions of these boundaries;
4) The potential for women’s participation in killings;
5) The ability to reclaim honour through enforced compliance or killings;
6) State sanction of such killings through recognition of honour as motivation and mitigation (Welchman & Hossain 50).
Each of these issues represents a major problem facing the societies where these crimes take place and as such must be addressed with all due concern from both those within the society and without.
In the West it is common to look at honor crimes and to automatically equate them with developing nations or countries where Islam is the predominant religion. Yet, research has shown time and again that it is not necessarily economics or religion that reinforces this behavior, but that of the “belt of classical patriarchy” or the principles in patriarchy that lead to domestic violence (Welchman & Hossain 47).
The issue of domestic violence, of which honor crimes are an uber example, is one that can be observed throughout the world’s cultures and societies, as well as throughout time. It is not limited to one specific culture, set of circumstances, or people, but sadly an issue that affects the entirety of humanity. As previously stated in the section on society and culture, great disparities still remain, and “in many places, most women’s lives remain wretched,” especially where there are rigid gender roles usually defined through patriarchy (Inglehart & Norris 3).
Where these crimes are most predominant are those countries that continue to struggle between the values of tradition and modernization. It is human nature to rapidly revert back to a safe and trusted way of life when change rears its head and in the case of countries where modernization has not come as easily (or where there may be warfare, famine, and other related hardships) as expected a trend of patriarchy and domestic violence becomes more apparent. This is particularly the case with older generations that find it harder to change their way of life and those younger generations who eagerly seek to adopt the new changes. A clash of values ensues, and in the case of women who are generally dependent on their families for numerous assets it is common to find them caught between two worlds. If the battle becomes such that social disgrace may occur (or has occurred) the father, brother, or uncle may resort to a forced marriage (which is vastly different from an arranged marriage that a woman willingly enters) or murder (Welchman & Hossain 46-47).
Iran's 'diagnosed transsexuals'
By Vanessa Barford
BBC News
Homosexual relationships are banned in Iran, but the country allows sex change operations and hundreds of men have elected for surgery to change their lives.
"He wants to kill me. He keeps telling me to come home so he can kill me. He had put rat poison in my tea."
For Ali Askar, at age 24, the decision to become a woman came at a heavy cost. His father threatened to kill him if he went ahead with surgery.
Now renamed Negar, she says she would not have had the operation if she did not live in Iran.
"If I didn't have to operate, I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't touch God's work."
But as Ali, he felt he had no identity.
Islam has a cure for people suffering from this problem. If they want to change their gender, the path is open
Hojatol Kariminia, Iranian cleric
He could not work with men because they sexually harassed him and made fun of him. But he could not work with women because he was not officially a woman.
"I am Iranian. I want to live here and this society tells you: you have to be either a man or a woman".
"Diagnosed transsexuals"
Sex changes have been legal in Iran since Ayatollah Khomeini, the spiritual leader of the 1979 Islamic revolution, passed a fatwa - a religious edict - authorising them for "diagnosed transsexuals" 25 years ago.
Today, Iran carries out more sex change operations than any other nation in the world except for Thailand.
The government even provides up to half the cost for those needing financial assistance and a sex change is recognised on your birth certificate.
"Islam has a cure for people suffering from this problem. If they want to change their gender, the path is open," says Hojatol Islam Muhammad Mehdi Kariminia, the religious cleric responsible for gender reassignment.
He says an operation is no more a sin than "changing wheat to flour to bread".
Yet homosexuality is still punishable by death.
"The discussion is fundamentally separate from a discussion regarding homosexuals. Absolutely not related. Homosexuals are doing something unnatural and against religion," says Kariminia. "It is clearly stated in our Islamic law that such behaviour is not allowed because it disrupts the social order."
Sex change surgery
I wanted to live like everyone else, like all the other boys and girls walking around. My goal was simply to find my own identity
Anoosh
Dr Mir-Jalali, a Paris-trained surgeon, is Iran's leading specialist in sex change surgery.
He claims to have performed over 450 operations in the last 12 years.
Many of his patients are struggling to figure out what to do because they do not fit into the norm. They see Dr Mir-Jalali as a saviour.
"Transsexuals feel that their body doesn't match how they feel," he says. "Whatever you do, psychiatrists, pills, prison, punishment, nothing helps".
Another of his patients, Anoosh, 21, was deeply unhappy before surgery and felt pressured to leave school because of his feminine behaviour and appearance.
"I wanted to live like everyone else, like all the other boys and girls walking around. My goal was simply to find my own identity."
Like many young people in Iran, Anoosh struggled to reconcile his sexual identity with the wishes of family, community and culture. He says he was continuously harassed and threatened with arrest by Iran's morality police before he had his sex change.
His boyfriend was also keen for him to go ahead with the sex change because 90% of the people they passed in the street said something nasty.
"When he goes out in female clothes and has a female appearance it is easier for me to persuade myself that he is a girl. It makes the relationship better," he says.
For Anoosh's younger brother, Ali Reza, it was harder to come to terms with Anoosh's desire to become a woman.
"I have had a brother for many years. I can't just suddenly accept him as my sister. If I refer to him as my brother he gets upset. But it's hard for me to believe this".
Anoosh's mother, Shahin, raised her children alone and had high hopes for her son.
"My child was meant to be the star of the family. I counted on him to be something other than this".
Avoiding shame
If you are a male with female tendencies, they don't see that as something natural or genetic. They see it as someone who is consciously acting dirty
Tanaz Eshaghian, TV Documentary maker
Documentary film maker Tanaz Eshaghian spent weeks filming Anoosh, Ali and other transsexuals in Iran. She thinks that part of what is driving many of the boys to operate is the desire to avoid shame.
"If you are a male with female tendencies, they don't see that as something natural or genetic. They see it as someone who is consciously acting dirty."
Being diagnosed as a transsexual makes it a medical condition, not a moral one.
Once a doctor has made a diagnosis - and an operation is in the pipeline - the transsexual can get official permission from his local government official to cross-dress in public.
"They look for a solution that will at least allow them to be attracted to the gender they are naturally attracted to - without feelings of shame, sin and wrong-doing - and move around in society without harassment. The price is often being disowned by your family," says Tanaz Eshaghian.
After surgery
Ali Askar - now renamed Negar and aged 27 - said that after the sex change operation she was initially depressed.
"But now, it's like I have been born again and I am in a new world."
But her family's reaction has taken its toll. Although they warned her she would be disowned, she thought that they would change their mind after the operation.
"They pray for me to die soon. If I'd known that my family would truly shun me like this, I would never have done it."
She now lives with other transsexuals who have had a sex change. She has had to work as a prostitute to make ends meet.
Rejection by her parents has affected her deeply: "When parents can kill the love for their own child inside themselves, I have killed love in my being. I will never fall in love".
But for Anoosh - who has changed her name to Anahita - there is a more positive outcome.
"Now when someone is attracted to me, it is as a girl," she says.
She is now engaged to her boyfriend and even her mother is happy.
"A boy will always just get married and leave his mum, but a girl stays, a girl is always yours and will never leave, and now I will never experience the sadness that occurs when a boy leaves.
"I always wanted a daughter and I think it's a gift from God that I finally got one."
Transsexual in Iran will be broadcast on BBC Two on Monday 25 February 2008 at 2100 GMT.
The original film, Be Like Others directed by Tanaz Eshaghian had its premier this month at the Berlin Film Festival. You can see clips at the film's website
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/7259057.stm
Published: 2008/02/25 10:55:03 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
BBC News
Homosexual relationships are banned in Iran, but the country allows sex change operations and hundreds of men have elected for surgery to change their lives.
"He wants to kill me. He keeps telling me to come home so he can kill me. He had put rat poison in my tea."
For Ali Askar, at age 24, the decision to become a woman came at a heavy cost. His father threatened to kill him if he went ahead with surgery.
Now renamed Negar, she says she would not have had the operation if she did not live in Iran.
"If I didn't have to operate, I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't touch God's work."
But as Ali, he felt he had no identity.
Islam has a cure for people suffering from this problem. If they want to change their gender, the path is open
Hojatol Kariminia, Iranian cleric
He could not work with men because they sexually harassed him and made fun of him. But he could not work with women because he was not officially a woman.
"I am Iranian. I want to live here and this society tells you: you have to be either a man or a woman".
"Diagnosed transsexuals"
Sex changes have been legal in Iran since Ayatollah Khomeini, the spiritual leader of the 1979 Islamic revolution, passed a fatwa - a religious edict - authorising them for "diagnosed transsexuals" 25 years ago.
Today, Iran carries out more sex change operations than any other nation in the world except for Thailand.
The government even provides up to half the cost for those needing financial assistance and a sex change is recognised on your birth certificate.
"Islam has a cure for people suffering from this problem. If they want to change their gender, the path is open," says Hojatol Islam Muhammad Mehdi Kariminia, the religious cleric responsible for gender reassignment.
He says an operation is no more a sin than "changing wheat to flour to bread".
Yet homosexuality is still punishable by death.
"The discussion is fundamentally separate from a discussion regarding homosexuals. Absolutely not related. Homosexuals are doing something unnatural and against religion," says Kariminia. "It is clearly stated in our Islamic law that such behaviour is not allowed because it disrupts the social order."
Sex change surgery
I wanted to live like everyone else, like all the other boys and girls walking around. My goal was simply to find my own identity
Anoosh
Dr Mir-Jalali, a Paris-trained surgeon, is Iran's leading specialist in sex change surgery.
He claims to have performed over 450 operations in the last 12 years.
Many of his patients are struggling to figure out what to do because they do not fit into the norm. They see Dr Mir-Jalali as a saviour.
"Transsexuals feel that their body doesn't match how they feel," he says. "Whatever you do, psychiatrists, pills, prison, punishment, nothing helps".
Another of his patients, Anoosh, 21, was deeply unhappy before surgery and felt pressured to leave school because of his feminine behaviour and appearance.
"I wanted to live like everyone else, like all the other boys and girls walking around. My goal was simply to find my own identity."
Like many young people in Iran, Anoosh struggled to reconcile his sexual identity with the wishes of family, community and culture. He says he was continuously harassed and threatened with arrest by Iran's morality police before he had his sex change.
His boyfriend was also keen for him to go ahead with the sex change because 90% of the people they passed in the street said something nasty.
"When he goes out in female clothes and has a female appearance it is easier for me to persuade myself that he is a girl. It makes the relationship better," he says.
For Anoosh's younger brother, Ali Reza, it was harder to come to terms with Anoosh's desire to become a woman.
"I have had a brother for many years. I can't just suddenly accept him as my sister. If I refer to him as my brother he gets upset. But it's hard for me to believe this".
Anoosh's mother, Shahin, raised her children alone and had high hopes for her son.
"My child was meant to be the star of the family. I counted on him to be something other than this".
Avoiding shame
If you are a male with female tendencies, they don't see that as something natural or genetic. They see it as someone who is consciously acting dirty
Tanaz Eshaghian, TV Documentary maker
Documentary film maker Tanaz Eshaghian spent weeks filming Anoosh, Ali and other transsexuals in Iran. She thinks that part of what is driving many of the boys to operate is the desire to avoid shame.
"If you are a male with female tendencies, they don't see that as something natural or genetic. They see it as someone who is consciously acting dirty."
Being diagnosed as a transsexual makes it a medical condition, not a moral one.
Once a doctor has made a diagnosis - and an operation is in the pipeline - the transsexual can get official permission from his local government official to cross-dress in public.
"They look for a solution that will at least allow them to be attracted to the gender they are naturally attracted to - without feelings of shame, sin and wrong-doing - and move around in society without harassment. The price is often being disowned by your family," says Tanaz Eshaghian.
After surgery
Ali Askar - now renamed Negar and aged 27 - said that after the sex change operation she was initially depressed.
"But now, it's like I have been born again and I am in a new world."
But her family's reaction has taken its toll. Although they warned her she would be disowned, she thought that they would change their mind after the operation.
"They pray for me to die soon. If I'd known that my family would truly shun me like this, I would never have done it."
She now lives with other transsexuals who have had a sex change. She has had to work as a prostitute to make ends meet.
Rejection by her parents has affected her deeply: "When parents can kill the love for their own child inside themselves, I have killed love in my being. I will never fall in love".
But for Anoosh - who has changed her name to Anahita - there is a more positive outcome.
"Now when someone is attracted to me, it is as a girl," she says.
She is now engaged to her boyfriend and even her mother is happy.
"A boy will always just get married and leave his mum, but a girl stays, a girl is always yours and will never leave, and now I will never experience the sadness that occurs when a boy leaves.
"I always wanted a daughter and I think it's a gift from God that I finally got one."
Transsexual in Iran will be broadcast on BBC Two on Monday 25 February 2008 at 2100 GMT.
The original film, Be Like Others directed by Tanaz Eshaghian had its premier this month at the Berlin Film Festival. You can see clips at the film's website
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/7259057.stm
Published: 2008/02/25 10:55:03 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
18 February 2008
Two Gatherins in Beruit
http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=92e492c3cca2a488149d109da1b95117c054127a
Marriage Beyond Reach
http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=3b4514d0475403ef66dd102886021d893aef75ad
11 February 2008
U.S. Seeking Execution for 6 Guatanomo Bay Detainees
By WILLIAM GLABERSON
Published: February 11, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/us/11gitmo.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Military prosecutors have decided to seek the death penalty for six Guantánamo detainees who are to be charged with central roles in the Sept. 11 terror attacks, government officials who have been briefed on the charges said Sunday.
The officials said the charges would be announced at the Pentagon as soon as Monday and were likely to include numerous war-crimes charges against the six men, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the former Qaeda operations chief who has described himself as the mastermind of the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.
A Defense Department official said prosecutors were seeking the death penalty because “if any case warrants it, it would be for individuals who were parties to a crime of that scale.” The officials spoke anonymously because no one in the government was authorized to speak about the case.
A decision to seek the death penalty would increase the international focus on the case and present new challenges to the troubled military commission system that has yet to begin a single trial.
“The system hasn’t been able to handle the less-complicated cases it has been presented with to date,” said David Glazier, a former Navy officer who is a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
In addition to Mr. Mohammed, the other five to be charged include detainees officials say were coordinators and intermediaries in the plot, among them a man labeled the “20th hijacker,” who was denied entry to the United States in the month before the attacks.
Under the rules of the Guantánamo war-crimes system, the military prosecutors can designate charges as capital when they present them, and it is that first phase of the process that is expected this week. The military official who then reviews them, Susan J. Crawford, a former military appeals court judge, has the authority to accept or reject a death-penalty request.
A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment on Sunday.
Some officials briefed on the case have said the prosecutors view their task in seeking convictions for the Sept. 11 attacks as a historic challenge. A special group of military and Justice Department lawyers has been working on the case for several years.
Even if the detainees are convicted on capital charges, any execution would be many months or, perhaps years, from being carried out, lawyers said, in part because a death sentence would have to be scrutinized by civilian appeals courts.
Federal officials have said in recent months that there is no death chamber at the detention camp at the United States naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and that they knew of no specific plans for how a death sentence would be carried out.
The military justice system, which does not govern the Guantánamo cases, provides for execution by lethal injection in death sentence convictions. But the United States military has rarely executed a prisoner in recent times.
The last military execution was in 1961, when an Army private, John A. Bennett, was hanged after being convicted of rape and attempted murder. Currently, there are six service members appealing military death sentences, according to a recently published article by a lawyer who specializes in military capital cases, Dwight H. Sullivan, a former chief military defense lawyer at Guántanamo.
One official who had been briefed on the war-crimes case said the charges were expected to be lodged against six detainees held at Guantánamo, including Mr. Mohammed, who is said to have presented the idea of an airliner attack on the United States to Osama bin Laden in 1999 and then coordinated its planning.
The official identified the others to be charged as Mohammed al-Qahtani, the man officials have labeled the 20th hijacker; Ramzi bin al-Shibh, said to have been the main intermediary between the hijackers and leaders of Al Qaeda; Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, known as Ammar al-Baluchi, a nephew of Mr. Mohammed, who has been identified as Mr. Mohammed’s lieutenant for the 2001 operation; Mr. al-Baluchi’s assistant, Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi; and Walid bin Attash, a detainee known as Khallad, who investigators say selected and trained some of the hijackers.
Relatives of the Sept. 11 victims have expressed differing views of potential death sentences, with some arguing that it would accomplish little other than martyring men for whom martyrdom may be viewed as a reward.
But on Sunday, Debra Burlingame, whose brother Charles F. Burlingame III was the pilot of the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 that was crashed into the Pentagon, said she would approve of an effort by prosecutors to seek the execution of men she blames for killing her brother. Ms. Burlingame said such a case could help refocus the public’s attention on what she called the calculated brutality of the attacks, which she said has been largely forgotten.
“My opinion is,” she said, “if the death of 3,000 people isn’t sufficient for a death penalty in this country, then why do we even have the death penalty?”
Lawyers said a prosecution move to seek the death penalty in six cases that will draw worldwide attention was risky. They said it would increase the stakes at Guantánamo partly by amplifying the attention internationally to cases that would draw intense attention in any event.
The military commission system has been troubled almost from the start, when it was set up in an order by President Bush in November 2001. It has been beset by legal challenges and practical difficulties, including a 2006 decision by the Supreme Court striking down the administration’s first system at Guantánamo. Although officials have spoken of charging 80 or more detainees with war crimes, so far only one case has been completed, and that was through a plea bargain.
Eric M. Freedman, a Hofstra University law professor who has been a consultant to detainees’ lawyers, said a decision to seek the death penalty would magnify the attention on each of the many steps in a capital case. Intense scrutiny, he said, “would be drawn to the proceedings both legally and politically from around the world.”
Some countries have been critical of the United States’ use of the death penalty in civilian cases, and a request for execution in the military commission system would import much of that criticism to the already heated debates about the legitimacy of Guantánamo and the Bush administration’s legal approach there, some lawyers said.
Tom Fleener, an Army Reserve major who was until recently a military defense lawyer at Guantánamo, said that bringing death penalty cases in the military commission system would bog down the untested system. He noted that many legal questions remain unanswered at Guantánamo, including how much of the trials will be conducted in closed, secret proceedings; how the military judges will handle evidence obtained by interrogators’ coercive tactics; and whether the judges will require experienced death-penalty lawyers to take part in such cases.
“Neither the system is ready, nor are the defense attorneys ready to do a death penalty case in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba,” Major Fleener said.
Professor Glazier of Loyola said the military commission system was devised to avoid many of the hurdles that have slowed civilian capital cases. Still, he said, he expected intense scrutiny and criticism of such cases that could slow proceedings.
In any event, vigorous trial battles and appeals would probably mean that no execution would be imminent. “It certainly seems impossible to get this done by the end of the Bush administration,” Professor Glazier said.
Published: February 11, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/us/11gitmo.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Military prosecutors have decided to seek the death penalty for six Guantánamo detainees who are to be charged with central roles in the Sept. 11 terror attacks, government officials who have been briefed on the charges said Sunday.
The officials said the charges would be announced at the Pentagon as soon as Monday and were likely to include numerous war-crimes charges against the six men, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the former Qaeda operations chief who has described himself as the mastermind of the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.
A Defense Department official said prosecutors were seeking the death penalty because “if any case warrants it, it would be for individuals who were parties to a crime of that scale.” The officials spoke anonymously because no one in the government was authorized to speak about the case.
A decision to seek the death penalty would increase the international focus on the case and present new challenges to the troubled military commission system that has yet to begin a single trial.
“The system hasn’t been able to handle the less-complicated cases it has been presented with to date,” said David Glazier, a former Navy officer who is a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
In addition to Mr. Mohammed, the other five to be charged include detainees officials say were coordinators and intermediaries in the plot, among them a man labeled the “20th hijacker,” who was denied entry to the United States in the month before the attacks.
Under the rules of the Guantánamo war-crimes system, the military prosecutors can designate charges as capital when they present them, and it is that first phase of the process that is expected this week. The military official who then reviews them, Susan J. Crawford, a former military appeals court judge, has the authority to accept or reject a death-penalty request.
A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment on Sunday.
Some officials briefed on the case have said the prosecutors view their task in seeking convictions for the Sept. 11 attacks as a historic challenge. A special group of military and Justice Department lawyers has been working on the case for several years.
Even if the detainees are convicted on capital charges, any execution would be many months or, perhaps years, from being carried out, lawyers said, in part because a death sentence would have to be scrutinized by civilian appeals courts.
Federal officials have said in recent months that there is no death chamber at the detention camp at the United States naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and that they knew of no specific plans for how a death sentence would be carried out.
The military justice system, which does not govern the Guantánamo cases, provides for execution by lethal injection in death sentence convictions. But the United States military has rarely executed a prisoner in recent times.
The last military execution was in 1961, when an Army private, John A. Bennett, was hanged after being convicted of rape and attempted murder. Currently, there are six service members appealing military death sentences, according to a recently published article by a lawyer who specializes in military capital cases, Dwight H. Sullivan, a former chief military defense lawyer at Guántanamo.
One official who had been briefed on the war-crimes case said the charges were expected to be lodged against six detainees held at Guantánamo, including Mr. Mohammed, who is said to have presented the idea of an airliner attack on the United States to Osama bin Laden in 1999 and then coordinated its planning.
The official identified the others to be charged as Mohammed al-Qahtani, the man officials have labeled the 20th hijacker; Ramzi bin al-Shibh, said to have been the main intermediary between the hijackers and leaders of Al Qaeda; Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, known as Ammar al-Baluchi, a nephew of Mr. Mohammed, who has been identified as Mr. Mohammed’s lieutenant for the 2001 operation; Mr. al-Baluchi’s assistant, Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi; and Walid bin Attash, a detainee known as Khallad, who investigators say selected and trained some of the hijackers.
Relatives of the Sept. 11 victims have expressed differing views of potential death sentences, with some arguing that it would accomplish little other than martyring men for whom martyrdom may be viewed as a reward.
But on Sunday, Debra Burlingame, whose brother Charles F. Burlingame III was the pilot of the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 that was crashed into the Pentagon, said she would approve of an effort by prosecutors to seek the execution of men she blames for killing her brother. Ms. Burlingame said such a case could help refocus the public’s attention on what she called the calculated brutality of the attacks, which she said has been largely forgotten.
“My opinion is,” she said, “if the death of 3,000 people isn’t sufficient for a death penalty in this country, then why do we even have the death penalty?”
Lawyers said a prosecution move to seek the death penalty in six cases that will draw worldwide attention was risky. They said it would increase the stakes at Guantánamo partly by amplifying the attention internationally to cases that would draw intense attention in any event.
The military commission system has been troubled almost from the start, when it was set up in an order by President Bush in November 2001. It has been beset by legal challenges and practical difficulties, including a 2006 decision by the Supreme Court striking down the administration’s first system at Guantánamo. Although officials have spoken of charging 80 or more detainees with war crimes, so far only one case has been completed, and that was through a plea bargain.
Eric M. Freedman, a Hofstra University law professor who has been a consultant to detainees’ lawyers, said a decision to seek the death penalty would magnify the attention on each of the many steps in a capital case. Intense scrutiny, he said, “would be drawn to the proceedings both legally and politically from around the world.”
Some countries have been critical of the United States’ use of the death penalty in civilian cases, and a request for execution in the military commission system would import much of that criticism to the already heated debates about the legitimacy of Guantánamo and the Bush administration’s legal approach there, some lawyers said.
Tom Fleener, an Army Reserve major who was until recently a military defense lawyer at Guantánamo, said that bringing death penalty cases in the military commission system would bog down the untested system. He noted that many legal questions remain unanswered at Guantánamo, including how much of the trials will be conducted in closed, secret proceedings; how the military judges will handle evidence obtained by interrogators’ coercive tactics; and whether the judges will require experienced death-penalty lawyers to take part in such cases.
“Neither the system is ready, nor are the defense attorneys ready to do a death penalty case in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba,” Major Fleener said.
Professor Glazier of Loyola said the military commission system was devised to avoid many of the hurdles that have slowed civilian capital cases. Still, he said, he expected intense scrutiny and criticism of such cases that could slow proceedings.
In any event, vigorous trial battles and appeals would probably mean that no execution would be imminent. “It certainly seems impossible to get this done by the end of the Bush administration,” Professor Glazier said.
03 February 2008
Kabul's old city gets major renovation
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Last year the streets in parts of the old city dropped by nine feet.
The reason? A massive garbage haul. Just about every unemployed man in the Murad Khane neighborhood of Kabul was recruited to clean up years of litter and mud piled on top of the streets. By the time they were done, the streets and alleys were lower.
The garbage project is part of an effort to clean up and restore old Kabul, after six years of relative peace and with millions of dollars from foreign donors.
The Turquoise Mountain Foundation, which is dedicated to traditional Afghan arts and architecture, has spent $1 million on conservation and clean-up in Murad Khane since last year. The Kabul organization is financed by both Western and Middle East donors.
The lower street level at first left Abdul Salaam's door looking oddly out of place, perched three feet higher than the square in front of it. So Turquoise Mountain had to fix his door, too, with fresh mud scars showing where it used to be. The frayed edges of plastic bags still stick out of the wall.
"It looks much nicer," Salaam said about the cleaned-up neighborhood. "And it doesn't smell bad anymore."
Next door to Salaam's house, Turquoise Mountain has just completed its first full restoration, the 130-year-old Peacock House — so called because of the carved wooden peacocks at the corners of the wooden window screens.
Similar houses are tucked away in the narrow alleys of the old city in this war-torn capital. Walk through a wooden portal and a covered walkway, and a visitor emerges in an intimate courtyard, surrounded on all sides by carved screens — as if encased in a wooden jewelry box. The screens lift in warm weather, opening the house to the courtyard.
These intricate, 19th century homes barely survived bombardment in the 1990s, when Kabul became the front line of Afghanistan's bloody civil war, and earlier plans to raze them for apartments. But rocket shells and earthquakes have left most teetering in rickety ruin.
Now the mud and timber homes are being restored to their former splendor, instilling a newfound pride among the mostly working-class residents of the old city.
"It used to be so beautiful, but during the fighting, a couple of rockets landed on the house," said Aminullah, a 63-year-old carpenter whose family has lived in the same two-story wooden structure for nearly two centuries.
The roof has been repaired and the courtyard repaved with bricks.
"The houses in the old city are so old," said Aminullah, who uses only one name. "They were handed down to us from our forefathers. If someone asked me to exchange it (for a modern one), I would not trade it because I'm very attached to this house."
His home is one of 11 restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, which has spent more than $8 million on historic conservation in Kabul since 2002, just after the U.S. invasion drove out the Taliban regime.
The Geneva-based organization, which does charitable work mainly in Muslim countries, has focused on the densely populated Asheqan wa Arefan neighborhood. With about 100 residents per acre, it is at least 10 times more cramped than New York, although still less so than Mumbai, India.
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture has also undertaken two large restorations in Kabul: the late 18th century brick-domed tomb of the ruler Timur Shah, next to the old city bazaar, and a 27-acre terraced garden laid out in the 16th century outside the old city.
But it is the smaller-scale projects — the homes, a public bathhouse, several shrines and smaller mosques — that have had the most impact on people.
The old city is a maze of narrow alleys, houses and shrines woven deep behind Kabul's main arteries. Some of the old homes are squalid, with mud piled high in the courtyard and chickens clucking around murky puddles left from hand washing clothes. Just next door, freshly restored wooden houses almost glow in contrast.
A 1979 master plan to raze Asheqan wa Arefan to make room for multistory, concrete apartment buildings was shelved in 2002.
"There were some businessmen who wanted to put up big buildings here, but this area has been passed on to us from our forefathers for many generations, and we have to respect it," said Sayed Hassan Parwisi, a community leader in the old city. "The mud of this area is like a shrine to us. We're proud of these mud and wood houses that we have because this is our history."
Streets that were once muddy puddles of open sewage have been paved with stones. Mothers told the Aga Khan Trust for Culture that the most important improvement is the drainage installed to keep the neighborhood — and their children — clean and healthy.
Rather than bringing in international experts, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture used local craftsmen to do the restoration work, honing their skills while keeping costs down.
"In a city of billion-dollar (development) programs, it's quite nice to be a bit more modest," said Jolyon Leslie, who manages the organization's program in Afghanistan.
It has not been easy to convince old city residents of the value of their wooden houses, as wealthier Afghans construct enormous cement houses adorned with mirrors and colorful cement flowers. But as residents see the improvements around them, they are chipping in manpower to help, said Parwisi, the old city community leader.
"We would all love to have cement houses, big buildings, beautiful houses, but if it does not have history, then it's useless," he said. "Our main interest in this area is its history. We want these houses because our forefathers have been living here for generations."
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-01-20-kabul-restoration_N.htm
The reason? A massive garbage haul. Just about every unemployed man in the Murad Khane neighborhood of Kabul was recruited to clean up years of litter and mud piled on top of the streets. By the time they were done, the streets and alleys were lower.
The garbage project is part of an effort to clean up and restore old Kabul, after six years of relative peace and with millions of dollars from foreign donors.
The Turquoise Mountain Foundation, which is dedicated to traditional Afghan arts and architecture, has spent $1 million on conservation and clean-up in Murad Khane since last year. The Kabul organization is financed by both Western and Middle East donors.
The lower street level at first left Abdul Salaam's door looking oddly out of place, perched three feet higher than the square in front of it. So Turquoise Mountain had to fix his door, too, with fresh mud scars showing where it used to be. The frayed edges of plastic bags still stick out of the wall.
"It looks much nicer," Salaam said about the cleaned-up neighborhood. "And it doesn't smell bad anymore."
Next door to Salaam's house, Turquoise Mountain has just completed its first full restoration, the 130-year-old Peacock House — so called because of the carved wooden peacocks at the corners of the wooden window screens.
Similar houses are tucked away in the narrow alleys of the old city in this war-torn capital. Walk through a wooden portal and a covered walkway, and a visitor emerges in an intimate courtyard, surrounded on all sides by carved screens — as if encased in a wooden jewelry box. The screens lift in warm weather, opening the house to the courtyard.
These intricate, 19th century homes barely survived bombardment in the 1990s, when Kabul became the front line of Afghanistan's bloody civil war, and earlier plans to raze them for apartments. But rocket shells and earthquakes have left most teetering in rickety ruin.
Now the mud and timber homes are being restored to their former splendor, instilling a newfound pride among the mostly working-class residents of the old city.
"It used to be so beautiful, but during the fighting, a couple of rockets landed on the house," said Aminullah, a 63-year-old carpenter whose family has lived in the same two-story wooden structure for nearly two centuries.
The roof has been repaired and the courtyard repaved with bricks.
"The houses in the old city are so old," said Aminullah, who uses only one name. "They were handed down to us from our forefathers. If someone asked me to exchange it (for a modern one), I would not trade it because I'm very attached to this house."
His home is one of 11 restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, which has spent more than $8 million on historic conservation in Kabul since 2002, just after the U.S. invasion drove out the Taliban regime.
The Geneva-based organization, which does charitable work mainly in Muslim countries, has focused on the densely populated Asheqan wa Arefan neighborhood. With about 100 residents per acre, it is at least 10 times more cramped than New York, although still less so than Mumbai, India.
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture has also undertaken two large restorations in Kabul: the late 18th century brick-domed tomb of the ruler Timur Shah, next to the old city bazaar, and a 27-acre terraced garden laid out in the 16th century outside the old city.
But it is the smaller-scale projects — the homes, a public bathhouse, several shrines and smaller mosques — that have had the most impact on people.
The old city is a maze of narrow alleys, houses and shrines woven deep behind Kabul's main arteries. Some of the old homes are squalid, with mud piled high in the courtyard and chickens clucking around murky puddles left from hand washing clothes. Just next door, freshly restored wooden houses almost glow in contrast.
A 1979 master plan to raze Asheqan wa Arefan to make room for multistory, concrete apartment buildings was shelved in 2002.
"There were some businessmen who wanted to put up big buildings here, but this area has been passed on to us from our forefathers for many generations, and we have to respect it," said Sayed Hassan Parwisi, a community leader in the old city. "The mud of this area is like a shrine to us. We're proud of these mud and wood houses that we have because this is our history."
Streets that were once muddy puddles of open sewage have been paved with stones. Mothers told the Aga Khan Trust for Culture that the most important improvement is the drainage installed to keep the neighborhood — and their children — clean and healthy.
Rather than bringing in international experts, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture used local craftsmen to do the restoration work, honing their skills while keeping costs down.
"In a city of billion-dollar (development) programs, it's quite nice to be a bit more modest," said Jolyon Leslie, who manages the organization's program in Afghanistan.
It has not been easy to convince old city residents of the value of their wooden houses, as wealthier Afghans construct enormous cement houses adorned with mirrors and colorful cement flowers. But as residents see the improvements around them, they are chipping in manpower to help, said Parwisi, the old city community leader.
"We would all love to have cement houses, big buildings, beautiful houses, but if it does not have history, then it's useless," he said. "Our main interest in this area is its history. We want these houses because our forefathers have been living here for generations."
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-01-20-kabul-restoration_N.htm
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
