BEIRUT: A Lebanese parliamentary committee has forced a vote on scrapping a controversial law that allows rapists to escape punishment by marrying their victims, an NGO said Thursday.
Parliament would need to ratify the decision to change the law, but NGO Abaad said the committee’s decision on Wednesday was a key first step.
“We hope that Parliament will move quickly to cancel this article and make the other amendments” proposed by the committee, said Alia Awada, advocacy manager for Abaad’s campaign to drop Article 522 of the penal code.
The controversial article deals with rape — including against minors — assault, kidnapping and forced marriage.
“If a valid marriage contract exists between the perpetrator of one of these crimes... and the abused, the prosecution is suspended,” the article reads. “If a verdict has been issued, the implementation is suspended.”
A proposal to scrap the article was introduced last year but the committee only approved it Wednesday, along with changes to other sections of the penal code.
The panel proposed raising the penalty for assaults against girls aged under 15 to a maximum of seven years.
Awada said she was hopeful that parliament would vote the changes into law.
“The committee took its time during discussions to reach consensus among all the members from the main political parties to avoid any obstacles to the vote in the parliament later,” she told AFP.
There are no precise figures on how many rapists marry their victims to avoid punishment, but Awada said the practice mainly took place in rural areas.
“Many girls come under pressure to marry their rapists under the guise of ‘protecting honor’ or ‘avoiding scandal’,” she said.
In December, the New York-based Human Rights Watch urged Lebanon to repeal Article 522, saying it “allows for a second assault on a rape survivor’s rights.”
“Protecting honor should be about ensuring that attackers are punished and promoting social attitudes that support survivors of sexual violence instead of stigmatizing them,” the rights watchdog said.
Lebanon largely leaves so-called personal status issues to the discretion of religious authorities of the country’s 18 recognized sects.
Controversial rape law in Lebanon to be scrapped
Controversial rape law in Lebanon to be scrapped
Syrian government foils Daesh plot to attack churches and New Year celebrations
- Bomber kills soldier in Aleppo, detonates explosives injuring 2 others
ALEPPO, DAMASCUS: The Syrian Interior Ministry announced on Thursday that it had thwarted a Daesh plot to carry out suicide attacks targeting New Year celebrations and churches, particularly in Aleppo.
The ministry said in a statement that, as part of ongoing counterterrorism efforts and careful monitoring of Daesh cells in cooperation with partner agencies, it had received intelligence indicating plans for suicide attacks targeting New Year celebrations in several provinces, particularly Aleppo, with a focus on churches and civilian gathering areas.
The ministry added that it took preemptive measures, including reinforcing security around churches, deploying mobile and fixed patrols, and setting up checkpoints across the city.
During operations at a checkpoint in Aleppo’s Bab Al-Faraj district, security forces intercepted a suspected Daesh member who opened fire. One internal security soldier was killed, and the attacker detonated explosives, injuring two others.
Daesh recently increased its attacks in Syria, and was blamed for an attack last month in Palmyra that killed three Americans.
On Dec. 13, two US soldiers and an American civilian were killed in an attack Washington blamed on a lone Daesh gunman in Palmyra.
In retaliation, American forces struck scores of Daesh targets in Syria.
Syrian authorities have also carried out several operations against Daesh since then, saying on Dec. 25 they had killed a senior leader of the group.
