Molester freed after verdict overturned by Court of Appeals

Well if you're a woman and you're seeking justice - the Court of Appeals ain't the place. In today's Arab Times we read...

Appeals overturns verdict, 'molester' freed

KUWAIT CITY: The Court of Appeals citing a letter of forgiveness and
willingness to withdraw the case, Sunday overturned the verdict of the Criminal
Court and refrained from passing a sentence against a Kuwaiti man, identified as
M. Khalaf, who was convicted of molesting, holding captive and torturing his
wife. During a previous session, lawyer for the man, attorney Riyadh Al-Sane,
told the court his client did not intend to 'molest' his wife as the Prosecution
had charged him. He added the man became furious after learning about his wife's
relationship with other men.
Attorney Al-Sane also said attempts were being made at reconciliation
between the two parties to begin anew their family life and bring up their
children in a family atmosphere.The lawyer pointed out modern studies show the
charge of molestation is accompanied by a bodily desire of the molester;
however, this desire did not exist in the case of his client who wanted to take
revenge for his wife's behavior unlike as has been charged by the Prosecutor in
his report.At the end of his argument, attorney Al-Sane had requested the court
to give the couple a chance to begin a new life.
Case papers indicate between Feb 25 and 29, 2004, Khalaf locked his wife
inside the kitchen of their home after he suspected her of having illegal
relationships with 'strangers'. During that period, Khalaf also tortured his
wife and beat her. He is also said to have inserted a large iron rod in her
private parts.On Nov 20, 2004, the Criminal Court had sentenced Khalaf to 15
years in prison. The session was presided by Judge Anwar Al-Enezi. Judges Sobhi
Al-Far and Hussein Al-Heraiti completed the panel. Registrar Ahmed Al-Shardan
also attended the session.

So assuming what's reported is accurate... (yeah, I know, fat chance) and reading in between the lines here, a guy tortures his wife and then gets off scot free! (... I don't know where that saying comes from - must be something in my scottish ancestry). I wonder if the wife, or her legal representative, even got a hearing from the Court of Appeals to present their side of the case! What pressures were put on the wife to withdraw the case? Maybe, just maybe, ....she's glad to get back with her husband. As always the cynic, I doubt it somehow. Get away from this guy when you can, my dear.

Hey, at least they could get a case heard in a Criminal Court. Unlike the hundreds of Indonesian & Filipino maids that are beaten and/or raped by their employers/slave masters.

Kuwaiti academic gets one year for disparaging Quran

Ya gotta watch what you say in this part of the world. From yesterday's Kuwait Times...

Kuwaiti academic gets one year for disparaging Quran
KUWAIT: A leading liberal academic has been handed a one-year suspended
jail term by Kuwait's appeals court for writing an article deemed offensive to
the holy Quran, he said yesterday. Ahmad Al-Baghdadi, a university political
science professor and columnist, was convicted of "disparaging the Quran" for
criticising plans by the Ministry of Education to increase the number of Islamic
education lessons in schools. The court, which passed its verdict on Saturday,
told Al-Baghdadi to pay KD 2,000 to suspend the jail term and ordered him to
keep good conduct for three years. In an article he wrote in his daily column in
Al-Siyassah newspaper last June, Al-Baghdadi said he sent his son to a private
foreign school to escape the "backwardness" of public education and because he
thought "learning music is more important than learning the holy Quran." "The
sentence is a harsh one. I only expressed my opinion. I did not degrade the
Quran," Al-Baghdadi, 54, said. He said he would pay the bail and later challenge
the sentence in the court of cassation, the country's supreme court. Al-Siyassah
editor Ahmad al-Jarallah was also fined $170 for allowing the publication of the
article. The two were acquitted by the criminal court a few months ago because
it considered the criticism as part of freedom of expression. The case was filed
by three Islamist activists on the grounds that the article contained an
accusation that Islamic education in Kuwait teaches students to be terrorists
and hate women and non-Muslims. The appeals court said in its verdict that the
article "linked between learning Islam and the Quran and terrorism and
backwardness." Baghdadi was sentenced for one month in prison in October 1999
for offending Islam in a 1996 article in which he claimed the Prophet Mohammad
(pbuh) failed in at least part of his mission. But he was pardoned by the Amir
after serving 13 days. "It's painful and bitter to receive such sentences. I
will start seeking political asylum in any country," Al-Baghdadi said.

Good on ya mate for speaking up. Clearly the quality (or lack of it) of the Ministry of Education's syllabus for Islamic studies is a problem. In fact, from all accounts it's totally crap! Why else would a reputable foreign curriculum school's Islamic education teachers actually clamour for resources they can use to teach children, outside of the Ministry's enforced syllabus. And then there is the way the Ministry of MisEducation enforces a syllabus that attempts to teach classical Arabic to children that are learning Arabic as a second (or third or fourth) language. I'm all for my children learning Arabic. I welcome it in fact. What a shame that most ex-pat children are turned off Arabic because there is no recognition of how a language can & should be taught.

And isn't that a nice touch, giving the paper's editor a slap on the wrist for publishing someone's opinion. Freedom of the press? Forget it if it can be alleged that you've disparaged the Quran.