Palestinians see worrisome trend as ‘honor’ killings rise

Haaretz reports: “A silvery green olive grove set in the red soil of a Palestinian village is a crime scene – testament to a practice so sensitive that it is spoken of only in whispers.

One night in late November, Rasha Abu Ara, a 32-year-old mother of five, was beaten to death and strung from a gnarled tree branch as a gruesome badge of ‘family honor’ restored.

The woman’s alleged sin was adultery, and her killer was either her own brother or husband, security sources told Reuters. Both are behind bars while an investigation continues.

Her murder brought to 27 the number of women slain in similar circumstances in Palestinian-run areas this year, according to rights groups – more than twice last year’s victims.

The rise has led Palestinians to question hidebound laws they say are lax on killers, as well as a reluctance to name and shame in the media and society, which may contribute to a feeling of impunity among perpetrators.

‘It feels like something that belongs to another time,’ said one young man in Aqqaba who refused to give his name, the first hints of a beard on his chin. ‘But, it’s standard.’…” (Sharia Law is deadly. Honor killing involves daughters who have experienced premarital sex. The father, brothers, or cousins then must put the daughter to death for bringing dishonor to the family name.

In the next headline the men who commit adultery only suffer for 80 seconds. How unfair to Islamic women who die for premarital sex

Afghanistan is a little tougher on adulterers as they are lashed or stoned to death publically. All homosexuals are also put to death under Sharia Law.

See the next two reports.)

Syria: Lashes in Town Square for ‘Adultery’ as Sharia Law Reigns

Israel National News reports: “Syrian cities under rebel control are being ruled by a strict interpretation of Islamic, or Sharia, law – as a video surfaced showing a man being served with lashes demonstrates.

Sharia courts are run by groups associated with Al Qaeda, including the Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The Authority of the Sharia system apparently applies to all areas of daily life, and have the power to dole out capital punishment.

Many of these courts are in the northern areas of Syria – rebel strongholds – and have armed militias which carry out punishments, according to reports.

The video shows a youth being whipped on adultery charges. The accused was brought to the town square and lashed in front of hundreds, including teenagers and young children. The sentence was read and the young man was hit dozens of times in the back, neck, and legs by a man wearing black executioner-style garb.

During the punishment, which lasted about a minute and twenty seconds, the crowd shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ as a sign of confirmation of a sentence.

Once the lashing is over, the accused also appears to receive hugs from the Al Qaeda crew. The intensity of the whipping was relatively weak compared to punishments whipping recorded in Saudi Arabia and other countries; it seems that the main goal of distributing video is to send a message of law and order in Syria without showing horrific images to lure youth into supporting the new system…”

Afghanistan considers reintroduction of public stoning for adulterers

The Guardian.co.uk reports: “Afghan government officials have proposed reintroducing public stoning as a punishment for adultery, Human Rights Watch said, even though the practice has been denounced both inside and outside the country as one of the most repugnant symbols of the Taliban regime.

The sentence for married adulterers, along with flogging for unmarried offenders, appears in a draft revision of the country’s penal code being managed by the ministry of justice.

There are several references to stoning in a translated section of the draft seen by the Guardian, including detailed notes on judicial requirements for handing down the sentence.

‘Men and women who commit adultery shall be punished based on the circumstances to one of the following punishments: lashing, stoning [to death],’ article 21 states. The draft goes on to specify that the stoning should be public, in article 23.

News that the government is contemplating bringing back a much-reviled punishment is unlikely to go down well with the western governments that back Kabul…”