From Jihad Watch:
Afghan rape victim still in jail, more than 10 days after pardon
Gulnaz is not out of jail, even after the absurd exercise of having to be pardoned for being raped. Apparently the jail has not received the official pardon order, and to make matters worse, the rapist's father is attempting to intimidate her with repeated visits while she waits. An update on this story. "Afghan rape victim still in jail despite pardon: lawyer," from Agence France-Presse, December 12:
An Afghan woman who was jailed for adultery after being raped remains in prison more than 10 days after President Hamid Karzai ordered her release, her lawyer said on Monday.
Gulnaz, who has already served two years in prison after a relative raped her at her home, should have been released within 48 hours and there was "no good reason" for her to remain behind bars, Kimberley Motley said.
Her case highlights the poor state of women's rights in Afghanistan, 10 years after a US-led invasion ousted the Taliban who were notorious for their harsh laws against women.
Following an outcry over her situation, Karzai called a meeting where judicial officials decided to pardon her, presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi told AFP on December 1.
Hundreds of women and girls as young as 12 remain in jail for so-called "moral crimes." Gulnaz' pardon was a face-saving move, not reform, and for those prisoners, nothing has changed.
But the officials also advised that Gulnaz should marry the man who attacked her, due to fears she could be in danger if released because of the stigma surrounding her attack in ultra-conservative Afghanistan.
Motley said there were no conditions set on Gulnaz's release and she would need time to decide what to do. But she also voiced concern that her client was being visited in jail by her attacker's father.
"She's still locked up and there's no good reason for it," Motley said. "Since the president has announced that he is going to issue a pardon she continues to be visited by the attacker's father.
"That's not appropriate. It's very disturbing. He's not a blood relative."
Gulnaz has been raising the child she had by her attacker in a prison cell in Kabul.
"She's anxious to leave and to be free. She's anxious to know what's going on," Motley said.
"She was told by the committee she would be released within two days."
Given the institutions they are dealing with, they would have needed to specify which two days.
Officials said the order had been sent to the ministry of justice but was being processed through various offices.
"We have already sent out the pardon letter. It does take a while until the cycle and process is finished," a presidential spokesman said.
"We have not officially received the pardon order, but we know it is on its way," ministry of justice spokesman Farid Ahmad Najeebi said.
"It takes a while until it reaches us because it has to go to the president's public affairs department, and several other offices before it reaches us. But we are expecting it soon."...
Remember that the prison is in Kabul, where the government is. This document is not meandering out to Herat or Mazar-e-Sharif. Even so, it seems ridiculous that a fax or phone call could not speed the process along. Rather, it is likely a question of priorities.
Posted by Marisol on December 13, 2011 12:14 AM
Afghan rape victim still in jail, more than 10 days after pardon
Gulnaz is not out of jail, even after the absurd exercise of having to be pardoned for being raped. Apparently the jail has not received the official pardon order, and to make matters worse, the rapist's father is attempting to intimidate her with repeated visits while she waits. An update on this story. "Afghan rape victim still in jail despite pardon: lawyer," from Agence France-Presse, December 12:
An Afghan woman who was jailed for adultery after being raped remains in prison more than 10 days after President Hamid Karzai ordered her release, her lawyer said on Monday.
Gulnaz, who has already served two years in prison after a relative raped her at her home, should have been released within 48 hours and there was "no good reason" for her to remain behind bars, Kimberley Motley said.
Her case highlights the poor state of women's rights in Afghanistan, 10 years after a US-led invasion ousted the Taliban who were notorious for their harsh laws against women.
Following an outcry over her situation, Karzai called a meeting where judicial officials decided to pardon her, presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi told AFP on December 1.
Hundreds of women and girls as young as 12 remain in jail for so-called "moral crimes." Gulnaz' pardon was a face-saving move, not reform, and for those prisoners, nothing has changed.
But the officials also advised that Gulnaz should marry the man who attacked her, due to fears she could be in danger if released because of the stigma surrounding her attack in ultra-conservative Afghanistan.
Motley said there were no conditions set on Gulnaz's release and she would need time to decide what to do. But she also voiced concern that her client was being visited in jail by her attacker's father.
"She's still locked up and there's no good reason for it," Motley said. "Since the president has announced that he is going to issue a pardon she continues to be visited by the attacker's father.
"That's not appropriate. It's very disturbing. He's not a blood relative."
Gulnaz has been raising the child she had by her attacker in a prison cell in Kabul.
"She's anxious to leave and to be free. She's anxious to know what's going on," Motley said.
"She was told by the committee she would be released within two days."
Given the institutions they are dealing with, they would have needed to specify which two days.
Officials said the order had been sent to the ministry of justice but was being processed through various offices.
"We have already sent out the pardon letter. It does take a while until the cycle and process is finished," a presidential spokesman said.
"We have not officially received the pardon order, but we know it is on its way," ministry of justice spokesman Farid Ahmad Najeebi said.
"It takes a while until it reaches us because it has to go to the president's public affairs department, and several other offices before it reaches us. But we are expecting it soon."...
Remember that the prison is in Kabul, where the government is. This document is not meandering out to Herat or Mazar-e-Sharif. Even so, it seems ridiculous that a fax or phone call could not speed the process along. Rather, it is likely a question of priorities.
Posted by Marisol on December 13, 2011 12:14 AM
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