Posted on 09/07/2009 12:37:28 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Journalist Lubna Hussein, wearing the same pants in the courtroom, is convicted of public indecency and sentenced to a month in jail when she refuses to pay a $200 fine. She could have been lashed.
A Sudanese woman was convicted today of public indecency for wearing pants at an outdoor cafe and jailed for one month when she refused to pay a fine.
The case has stirred international outrage and spawned protests in Sudan over the Islamic-dominated government's treatment of women.
Lubna Hussein, a journalist and former U.N. staffer based in Khartoum, the capital, could have received 40 lashes with a plastic whip under Sudan's criminal code, which is based largely on Islamic Sharia law.
Instead, a judge ordered Hussein -- who stood before the court in the same pair of pants that she wore when arrested -- to pay a $200 fine. Hussein said she would refuse to pay, and was taken to a women's prison to serve a one-month sentence.
"If I paid, it would mean I'd lost the battle," Hussein said after the verdict was announced. "I would rather serve my time in jail."
Hussein was arrested earlier this year with a dozen other women, most of whom have since paid a fine or were lashed.
Western nations lodged complaints about the case. Amnesty International, a human rights group, last week likened public floggings to "state-sponsored torture."
Hussein, believed to be in her 30s, said she hoped her case would put a spotlight on the repressive treatment of women in Sudan.
More than 100 female protesters rallied to her defense at the courthouse, some dressed in pants, shouting slogans such as "There is no justice in Sudan!" Police arrested more than three dozen protesters and released them after the verdict was announced.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
And the world continues its downward spiral...
I admire her commitment, but she may be better served being a voice here, like Hirsi Ali.
Only in “The Cradle of Civilization.”
TC
Religion of peace. Where is NOW? Cue the crickets...
This is the first time I’ve ever heard The Sudan referred to as the cradle of civilization.
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