14-year-old Bangladeshi girl executed after being raped

In Bangladesh? I thought this kind of thing happened only in Saudi Arabia.

Nicholas Kristof: "Hena collapsed after 70 lashes and was taken to the hospital. She died a week later, by some accounts because of internal bleeding and a general loss of blood. The doctors recorded her death as a suicide. (Women and girls who are raped are typically expected to commit suicide, to spare everyone the embarrassment of an honor crime.) I’ve covered enough of these kinds of stories to know that it’s difficult to know exactly what happened unless you’re on the scene talking to everyone who was there; maybe the imam has a different version of events. But all accounts that I’ve seen such that this was a brutal attack on a helpless girl in the name of sharia and justice."

A commenter on that article explains: "This is what was formerly known as East Bengal. Something like this would never happen in West Bengal. If a girl is raped or even as much as "eve teased" forget about it - the whole township will beat the rapist. In East Bengal and in Muslim dominated areas, it is the other way around, its always the girls fault. Apart from religion, nothing separates East and West Bengal, they share the same language, the same culture, similar cuisine, same love for Rabindra sangeet, same music, same dance, same love for literature, even similar passion for debating and chatter. Sad and grim."

"Stress" made him rape and murder

"Jurors began deliberating on the charges Wednesay, eight days after the trial began in U.S. District Court in western Kentucky.

Green has pleaded not guilty to charges that he raped 14-year-old Abeer Qassim al-Janabi and shot her, her parents and younger sister to death in March 2006.

...But defense attorney Scott Wendelsdorf said jurors needed to take into account Green's stress and the Army's failure to address it. Jurors heard testimony that Green had spoken before the attack about having thoughts of killing Iraqis."

Trial of Rapist Murderer Finally Begins

This crime will go down as the worst committed by a US soldier in Iraq.

Trial begins in former soldier's murder trial

BY ANDREW WOLFSON • AWOLFSON@COURIER-JOURNAL.COM • APRIL 27, 2009

PADUCAH, Ky. — A federal prosecutor today told a jury that the government will prove that former soldier Steven Green raped a 14-year-old girl and then murdered her and her family “not in the fog of war, but in cold blood.”

Saudi gang rape victim sentenced to 100 lashes

More bizarre stupidity from the land run by Wahhabi jarab, our "moderate" ally in the mid east. Thanks Molly for posting this:

Saudi judge sentences pregnant gang-rape victim to 100 lashes for committing adultery

By LIZ HAZELTON
Last updated at 11:01 AM on 11th February 2009

A Saudi judge has ordered a woman should be jailed for a year and receive 100 lashes after she was gang-raped, it was claimed last night.

The 23-year-old woman, who became pregnant after her ordeal, was reportedly assaulted after accepting a lift from a man.

He took her to a house to the east of the city of Jeddah where she was attacked by him and four of his friends throughout the night.

She later discovered she was pregnant and made a desperate attempt to get an abortion at the King Fahd Hospital for Armed Forces.

According to the Saudi Gazette, she eventually 'confessed' to having 'forced intercourse' with her attackers and was brought before a judge at the District Court in Jeddah.

He ruled she had committed adultery - despite not even being married - and handed down a year's prison sentence, which she will serve in a prison just outside the city.

She is still pregnant and will be flogged once she has had the child.

The Saudi Arabian legal system practices a strict form of medieval law. Women have very few rights and are not even allowed to drive.

They are also banned from going out in public in the company of men other than male relatives.

Torture and Murder by Saddam's Regime

For 24 years, between 1980 and 2003, Saddam's regime tortured, raped, and murdered Iraqis. Most of the world did not know of his crimes. It amazes me that some people (especially Shia) would have expected Iraqis to put up with Saddam's regime even longer.

'Against all the odds "A", a 59-year-old medical doctor in Baghdad, bribed a prison officer and fled the country. She told her story to Amnesty International just three weeks ago. Her crime? She was arrested in June 1999 on suspicion that she had contacts with an Iraqi opposition group. She denies the accusation.

"Those suspected of any involvement in opposition activities can expect to be arrested without a warrant; held in secret detention, without access to family and lawyers; be brutally tortured -- including in one case known to Amnesty International, having their eyes gouged out --and finally, could face execution," the human rights organization revealed in a new report today.

In its report, Amnesty International is shining a spotlight on these grave human rights violations in Iraq, that are taking place systematically and with total impunity. These violations range from arbitrary arrest and detention, to torture, extrajudicial and judicial executions after unfair trials, "disappearances" and forcible expulsions on the basis of ethnic origin.

The majority of the victims of Iraq's relentless repression are Shi'a Muslims in Southern Iraq and in some districts of Baghdad, as well as Kurds in the north. Summary executions are being carried out on a regular basis. The Iraqi Government rarely announces executions or makes public any official statistics in relation to the death penalty. In many cases it is impossible to determine whether the reported executions are judicial or extrajudicial given the secrecy surrounding them.

On 11 July 1999 Ibrahim Amin al-'Azzawi, a 70-year-old lawyer, was executed. His family, who have now fled the country, believed it was because his son-in-law, Riyadh Baqer al-Hilli, a Shi'a Muslim, was suspected of involvement in underground anti-government activities. No information on any charge, trial or sentencing was ever available. No information is available to Amnesty International either as to the fate of Riyadh, who was also arrested and taken away.'

"I WAS UDAY HUSSEIN"

Uday Hussein, who was the heir apparent to Saddam Hussein until he became deranged, was one sick piece of khera.  Thanks Datta for sending me these articles.

I WAS UDAY HUSSEIN

The hand that rocks the oil pumps controls the world. Between 1979 and 2003, that hand was Saddam Hussein's. He would also use it to sign death warrants on dissenters, to murder his own countrymen, to plot disastrous wars with neighboring countries, and to be the puppet master of his entire population. In September 1987, Saddam—or more accurately, his son, Uday—picked up my strings. Uday wanted a double, and I was unlucky enough to resemble him.

his was not my first encounter with Uday. Because of my father's wealth I was sent to the best school in Iraq, and a young, spoiled, arrogant Uday became my classmate. We all hated him even then. He would cruise the streets in his cars and, with the assistance of his bodyguards, would pick up girls whether they wanted to go with him or not—and most did not. At least one girl who refused to be taken by him was kidnapped and thrown to his starving dogs. In class he would act like his father, showing no enthusiasm for lessons and acting threateningly toward anyone who crossed him. A teacher who reprimanded him for bringing his girlfriend into class disappeared and was never seen again. My classmates used to tease me and call me Uday because even at that age I resembled him. I used to imitate him for laughs.

When my second encounter with Uday came about, I was a captain on the front in Iraq's pointless war with Iran. My unit's command received a dispatch saying that I should be sent to the presidential palace. I was taken there and informed that I was to become Uday Hussein's fiday, or body double. This would involve attending functions, making appearances, and assuming his persona when rumors of assassination were circulating. Saddam had several fidays already, and Uday obviously longed for one just like his daddy. I was to be his first. My initial refusal was met with a long spell of solitary confinement and mental torture in a cramped cell without so much as a toilet to maintain my dignity. Eventually, this treatment, and vile threats against my family, forced me to agree to Uday's demands.

Throughout a lengthy period I was trained to act like him and to speak like him. I was also, through cosmetic surgery, made to look even more like him. Indeed, having my front teeth filed down and being given a set of caps that mimicked Uday's gave me a lisp just like his. I was, during my "training," desensitized to the ugly barbarity of the regime by being forced to watch endless, excruciating videos of real torture, mutilation, and murder perpetrated by them on dozens of men, women, and children of Iraq, usually prisoners or prisoners' family members. These films also served as a warning as to what I could expect were I to decide to challenge the regime at any time in the future.

My first public appearance as Uday was at a football match in Baghdad's People's Stadium. My job was to wave at the crowd from a dignitaries box and present medals to the players at the end. When Uday saw the appearance on television he was impressed. He congratulated my trainers and accepted me as a member of his circle, albeit on the outer reaches. He could not allow anyone to become too close to him, particularly anyone from outside the Tikriti clan from which the majority of the regime was drawn. Indeed, I had been the first fiday to be plucked from the outside world.

From then on my days were spent living in his palaces, effectively a prisoner, as I was not allowed to do anything without permission. But it was a prison of opulence and luxury, with access to the finest food and drink the world had to offer. Swimming pools and other such charmed diversions made the time a little more bearable.

ut the captivity grew stultifying. Most of the time I would not be making appearances; I would be bored out of my mind, intellectually and socially unchallenged. I had graduated with a degree in law and had dreamed of following in my father's footsteps and becoming a businessman. This had never been part of my master plan. I was living a brainless, useless existence with no independence or exercise of free will. But worse was to come. I got sucked closer to Uday and he started to treat me as one of his bodyguards, taking me out with him as protection against assassination at the hands of any of his multitude of enemies. This is when I witnessed the depravity of Uday firsthand. I saw him rape, murder, bully, and destroy anyone who dared to question his will. This could be anyone from friends of his father to innocent passersby. On one occasion a honeymooning couple, the wife of which Uday took a liking to, was split apart forever when she threw herself to her death from a balcony after being raped by Uday.

I was saved by the beginning of the invasion of the US-led forces, which seemed to give the regime other things to think about. Uday came to visit me one day. He had me shaved from head to toe and dumped on the doorstep of my parents' home. My mother discovered me but did not recognize the bald, skeletal figure at her feet until I spoke to tell her who I was.

I eventually managed to flee to Austria, but Uday was not finished with me. Two of Uday's men arrived at my family's home and told my father that Uday wanted to see him in his office. They said the meeting would not take too long and that they would pick him up and bring him back. The meeting took place in the headquarters of the Iraqi Olympic Committee, the organization led by Uday more as something for him to do than through any interest he might have had in sports. At 4 AM my father was dropped off at home. The family was still awake, terrified that he had been kidnapped, tortured, or murdered. He said he did not feel well, and just sat there in the lounge, obviously in some distress. In time he started to feel dizzy. Everyone assumed he was tired, as the past few hours would have been a serious drain on his physical resources. But his skin was changing color, at first unnoticeably but eventually unmistakably, to a sickly shade of yellow. He eventually keeled over and took his last breath.

A few hours after my father was dropped off, Uday's bodyguards arrived at the house and imposed a no-funeral rule. They told my family simply to put his body in a grave and unceremoniously bury him. They must have known he would be dead by then, which confirmed to anyone in any doubt that he had been deliberately poisoned. Their rationale was that he was killed because he was the father of Latif Yahia, in their view one of the country's greatest criminals, one of its traitors, who was working alongside the CIA to overthrow Saddam.

I continue to blame myself for the death of my father. And I cannot see the day when I will forgive myself. I could have stayed in Iraq and faced the music. Perhaps I would have been the one to accept the orange juice, to have my bones broken, my soul forced through the mangle. Perhaps then my father would have been the one blaming himself—for sending me to the same school as Uday, for being wealthy. Who knows? It is pointless thinking about it. All I knew was that he was the biggest thing in my life—my father, my friend, my teacher, my confidante, a line of continuity in a place where arbitrary acts of violence and mayhem kept its inhabitants in fear and obedience. And now he is gone.

--LATIF YAHIA

Also read: Goal! Soccer the Iraqi Way

Saudi gang-rape victim goes public

Diodotus left this comment yesterday (thank you): "To help protect this woman, call the Saudi Embassy at (202) 342-3800. Phone calls carry more weight than letters. And be respectful! Appealing to the best of Islamic values will go farther than some of the insults I've seen in the blogosphere lately."

Saudi gang-rape victim goes public with account of police complacency, judicial insults
By Agence France Presse (AFP)

Friday, November 30, 2007

 

LONDON: A Saudi gang rape victim who was sentenced to six months in jail and 200 lashes was scolded by judges while police repeatedly dismissed her claims, she said in testimony published Thursday. The 19-year-old girl described the rape itself - including the fact that one of her attackers photographed her - and her struggle to eat or sleep in its immediate aftermath to the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW).

She was attacked at knifepoint by seven men after she was found in a car with a male companion who was not a relative, in breach of strict Saudi law, and was initially sentenced last year to 90 lashes for being with the man.

After her appeal, the court ordered her punishment should be increased to the current sentence, a decision which has attracted wide international condemnation from human rights groups to the White House.

According to the testimony published in Britain's The Independent newspaper, once the girl's husband found out about the gang rape, he told the police and appealed for the rapists to be arrested, to which a police officer said: "You go find them and investigate." The husband telephoned the police on four separate occasions before any action was taken.  continued

I'm glad prosecutors want the death penalty in this case. While the US seeks to punish Americans who rape and murder Iraqis (which doesn't happen often), Al Qaeda continues to mass murder Iraqis on a daily basis without punishment.

Death penalty sought in Iraqi slayings

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Federal prosecutors filed notice Tuesday that they will seek the death penalty if former soldier Steven D. Green is convicted of killing an Iraqi family and raping a 14-year-old girl.

Soldier pleads guilty to role in murders

Most viewed news story on Yahoo right now:

Soldier pleads guilty to role in murders

'FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - A Fort Campbell soldier pleaded guilty Wednesday to being an accessory to the rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the slaying of her family.

Pfc. Bryan Howard, 20, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice by lying to his superior officers about the attack last year in Mahmoudiya, 20 miles south of Baghdad. It was one of the most shocking atrocities committed by U.S. troops in the
Iraq war.

Howard could get up to 15 years in prison at a sentencing hearing that began Wednesday afternoon.

Five soldiers were charged in the rape of Abeer Qassim al-Janabi and the killings of her, her parents and her younger sister. Two of the soldiers previously pleaded guilty and said Howard's role was minimal.'

Revenge for Sabreen al Janabi

Al Qaeda has executed 18 employees of the Interior Ministry, saying that it was revenge for the rape of Sabreen al Janabi. I doubt any of the executed employees had anything to do with the rape, but fundamentalist quarter-brained 'Muslims' have never cared much about arresting the people who are actually responsible for crimes against their brethren. I guess we should not expect much from Al Qaeda or the 'Islamic' State of Iraq. After all, we are talking about the low-life scum of earth who detonate massive truck bombs among civilians shopping for fruits and vegetables.

Another Sunni Woman Raped by Security Forces

Another Sunni Woman Raped by Security Forces
Four Iraqi Soldiers Confessed, Charged With Crime
Posted 1 hr. 34 min. ago

As the scandal over the alleged rape of a 20-year-old Sunni woman by Iraqi police last weekend continues to simmer, it has been revealed that incident was the second time last week Iraqi security forces were denounced for allegedly raping a Sunni woman.

In the first case, three grunts and a lieutenant have been accused of raping a middle-aged, married mother of eleven and attempting to rape two of her daughters in Tal Afar northern Iraq. The case has been referred to the judiciary for prosecution.

According to news accounts quoting Gen. Njim Abdullah, the mayor of Tal Afar, security forces were performing a sweep for weapons and insurgents when the attack took place.

The men initially denied the charges but later confessed after the woman personally confronted them.

The three soldiers admitted to assaulting the woman while their lieutenant filmed the attack with a cell phone camera. A fifth soldier apparently happened upon the scene while it was in progress and pointed a gun at his comrades to force them to stop.

The BBC quoted Gen. Abdullah as saying: "One of the soldiers did not approve. His name is Mushtaq Taleb from Basra. He wanted to stop his comrades by threatening them with weapons because it is an immoral act, but the rape took place anyway."

Rape allegations amid car bombings

Rape allegations amid Iraq car bombings
By Christian Berthelsen, Times Staff Writer
10:29 AM PST, February 21, 2007

BAGHDAD -- Questions about the alleged rape of a woman by Iraqi police swirled around the U.S.-led security operation in Iraq today, as car bombings and an assassination left at least 19 people dead around the country and another U.S. helicopter went down.

One of the car bombings involved another effort to explode chlorine gas canisters, the second time in two days that insurgents have used crude chemical weapons attacks to target civilians. At least two people were killed, 25 poisoned and eight others injured in the attack.

In the rape case, a 20-year-old Sunni woman first came forward Sunday with allegations that she was attacked by three Iraqi police officers who searched her house, accused her of aiding insurgents and took her to a local police station. She later went to a U.S. medical facility for treatment, which admitted her and released her the following morning. She described the alleged attack in an interview that began airing on television here Monday.

The Iraqi government quickly dismissed her allegations, clearing the officers after a one-day investigation and accusing the victim of being an impostor wanted on criminal warrants. In the process they named her and gave out other identifying details.

Rape by an Iraqi Soldier

Story Of Rape By An Iraqi Soldier

A 22-Year-Old Student Shares Her Story

Posted 7 hr. 29 min. ago

From IRIN, the news service out of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the story of Luana, a woman raped by an Iraqi soldier:

"I'm a 22-year-old Christian student in Iraq. Two months ago I was raped by an Iraqi soldier following a raid at my home.

"I thought very hard before agreeing to tell my story. But I cannot allow other girls to suffer the same violence I suffered. in addition to being discriminated against and lacking support.

"With the exception of my older brother, Khalil, all my family had left for Amman, Jordan and then for Sweden. I was waiting to finish my last year at university before joining them. Only I and Khalil stayed behind. One day, while he was at university, a group of Iraqi soldiers raided our home saying that they had information that there were insurgents in the area.

"When they were inside my home I saw them giving me strange looks. They asked me questions for about 15 minutes and then they left.

"Two days later, on the afternoon of 27 November last year, I was alone again in the house and I heard a sound coming from the living room. First, I thought Khalil had come home earlier and then I realised it was one of the Iraqi soldiers who had raided our home two days previously.

Maybe by knowing what happened to me, the world will be aware of what is happening to women in Iraq. "I was surprised and was about to ask him if he was conducting another raid when he put his hand directly over my mouth and told me that if I made any sound, he would wait for my brother and kill him.

"He knew I was alone because of the answers I had given on the day of the raid.

"I tried to free myself from his arms and run but he was much stronger than me. He forced me into a bedroom and made me do what I had never done before in my life. He raped me while I cried and tried to bite his hand but each time I did this he hit my face with his other hand.

"When he finished he told me that if I told the police about it he would return and do it again with me and kill my brother so the house would be just for me and him.

"When my brother came home I told him everything. He got so upset that he forced me to go to the police with him. There we met a sergeant who asked for proof that it was an Iraqi soldier who raped me, saying that maybe it was not a soldier but only someone dressed like one.

He raped me while I cried and tried to bite his hand but each time I did this he hit my face with his other hand. "After two hours of humiliation, being looked at by the police officers as the latest girl who lost her virginity in Iraq, we went home. Khalil cried more than me because he couldn't believe that his sister had suffered such abuse while he was away and the rapist would not be charged.

"We called our family in Sweden the same day and told them what had happened. Since then, they have been trying to get us visas to join them.

"Two weeks ago, I discovered that I was made pregnant by the rapist. Khalil took me to a doctor who did an abortion and since then my neighbour has been taking care of me.

"I hope my story will help girls who are raped in Iraq to decide to tell their story even though it is hard in a traditional Muslim country such as Iraq. But if we remain silent, there will be more girl victims and more girls will lose that so precious thing that God gave them, their virginity."

IRIN is a news service of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.

Torture, Rape, and Murder By Saddam's Henchmen

I linked to this Amnesty International report in my first post. It's a reminder that not all torture carried out by Arab regimes can be blamed on the US.

'Women too have been tortured, ill-treated and in some cases extrajudicially executed in Iraq. Su'ad Jihad Shams al-Din, a 61-year-old medical doctor, was arrested at her clinic in Baghdad on 29 June 1999 on suspicion that she had contacts with Shi'a Islamist groups. She was detained without charge or trial and was released on 25 July 1999. She was initially held in Baghdad Security Directorate and then was transferred to al-Ambar Security Directorate (also in Baghdad) on 5 July. Su'ad Jihad Shams al-Din was tortured frequently during interrogation by security men. Methods of torture included mostly beatings on the sole (falaqa) with a cable.

Some women have been raped in custody. They were detained and tortured because they were relatives of well known Iraqi opposition activists living abroad. The security authorities use this method to put pressure on Iraqi nationals abroad to cease their activities. For example, on 7 June 2000 Najib al-Salihi, a former army general who fled Iraq in 1995 and joined the Iraqi opposition, was sent a videotape showing the rape of a female relative. Shortly afterwards he reportedly received a telephone call from the Iraqi intelligence service, asking him whether he had received the "gift" and informing him that his relative was in their custody.

In October 2000 dozens of women suspected of prostitution were beheaded without any judicial process in Baghdad and other cities after they had been arrested and ill-treated. Men suspected of procurement were also beheaded. The killings were reportedly carried out in the presence of representatives of the Ba'ath Party and the Iraqi Women's General Union. Members of Feda'iyye Saddam, a militia created in 1994 by 'Uday Saddam Hussain, used swords to execute the victims in front of their homes. Some victims were reportedly killed in this manner for political reasons.

Najat Mohammad Haydar, an obstetrician in Baghdad, was beheaded in October 2000 apparently on suspicion of prostitution. However, she was reportedly arrested before the introduction of the policy to behead prostitutes and was said to have been critical of corruption within the health services.

A woman known as "Um Haydar" was beheaded reportedly without charge or trial at the end of December 2000. She was 25 years' old and married with three children. Her husband was sought by the security authorities reportedly because of his involvement in Islamist armed activities against the state. He managed to flee the country. Men belonging to Feda'iyye Saddam came to the house in al-Karrada district and found his wife, children and his mother. Um Haydar was taken to the street and two men held her by the arms and a third pulled her head from behind and beheaded her in front of the residents. The beheading was also witnessed by members of the Ba'ath Party in the area. The security men took the body and the head in a plastic bag, and took away the children and the mother-in-law. The body of Um Haydar was later buried in al-Najaf. The fate of the children and the mother-in-law remains unknown.'