Egypt's Ministry Of Justice To Rapists: The Death Penalty Aw

[CocoaButter]

The Ministry Of Justice in Egypt have announced that the penalty for rape will lead to either hard time in prison or the death penalty.

The penalty for child rape have also been updated, the younger the victim is the harsher the penalty.

This was announced after 10 men from the governorate of Kafr El-Sheikh received the death sentence after they were convicted of kidnapping and gang raping a woman.
http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.a ... leID=19037

Lawyer of alleged Coptic rapist requests trial transfer
CAIRO: Days before the resumption of the trial of a Coptic man accused of raping a 12-year-old Muslim girl in the village of Farshout in Qena, his lawyer placed a request on Tuesday to relocate the court proceedings to Cairo.

Lawyer Peter El-Naggar, a member of the legal council defending the accused Girgis Baroumi Girgis, cited the sensitivity of honor-related crimes in Upper Egypt.

Girgis was charged with rape on Nov. 21, 2009 and criminal court proceedings began on Jan. 19 when the hearings were postponed till Feb. 17.

El-Naggar told Daily News Egypt that the defense team was being "intimidated in·tim·i·date
tr.v. in·tim·i·dat·ed, in·tim·i·dat·ing, in·tim·i·dates
1. To make timid; fill with fear.

2. To coerce or inhibit by or as if by threats.
..... Click the link for more information." by the rape victim's family, which is an infringement on defendant'sAa civil rights.

"The sensitivity of the issue and the popular anger at the crime has undermined the prospect of a fair trial," said El-Naggar.

The lawyer addressed his request to Justice Minister Mamdouh Marei, explaining that he is legally allowed to request the transfer if this will ensure that justice will be served and guarantee the defendant's right to a fair trial The Right to a fair trial is an essential right in all countries respecting the rule of law. It is explicitly proclaimed in Article Ten of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Sixth Amendment of the US Constitution, and Article Six of the European Convention of Human
.......
n November, news of the alleged rape saw hundreds of Muslim protesters burn Christian-owned shops and attacking a police station where they believed Girgis was being held.

Authorities in Egypt have claimed that the rape prompted a revenge attack in which six Coptic Christians were gunned down as they emerged from their Christmas Eve mass in the southern town of Nagaa Hammadi on Jan. 6.

Rights activists have, however, contested the government's attempt to treat the drive-by shooting drive-by shooting Public health A phenomenon in which one or more persons–commonly members of street gangs, open fire à la Al Capone from moving vehicles, often in retaliation for an alleged wrong-doing by a rival gang as an ordinary crime while downplaying the sectarian sec·tar·i·an
adj.
1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a sect.

2. Adhering or confined to the dogmatic limits of a sect or denomination; partisan.

3. Narrow-minded; parochial.

n.
1. dimension, which they believe highlights the systematic discrimination against Egypt's Coptic minority.

Daily NewsEgypt 2009
Bit confusing to me ?????

[FABlux]

I do think it would be better if the trial was moved. The reports from Qena at the time of the shootings certainly were that religious tensions were running extremely high as a direct result of the rape & I don't think holding the trial there would help things.

Whilst I think what he allegedly did was dreadful he is entitled to a fair trial.

Great news about the increased sentences for rape & the overall change in attitude to sex crimes of all types