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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| No resistance invalid proof of zina: SC |
| 2004-10-16 |
| The Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday dismissed appeals by convicted rapists after observing that a victim's failure to resist did not mean the case could be treated as zina (adultery). The Shariat Bench rejected the defence's arguments that females alleging rape had actually engaged in adultery because there was no indication of resistance. Justice Dogar observed that under the Hudood Ordinance, rape could occur even if there was no evidence of resistance by the victim. One appeal was filed by Mazhar Bashir, a tutor convicted of raping his 18-year old female student in November 2001. The trial court sentenced him to 7 years in prison. The Federal Shariat Court upheld his conviction. He then appealed his conviction before the Shariat Appellate Bench of the SC. His counsel, Shaikh Khizar Hayat, argued that the raped woman was an educated girl who was in good health and could not have been raped had she resisted. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 ...I have GOT to get a pair of glasses, I thought for a second that somebody was concerned about Zima here in SC... Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2004-10-16 12:59:09 PM |