Iran:16year-old girl hanged in street for"acts incompatible with chastity"

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/deliver/document/15557.html

snip
Amnesty International today (24 August 2004) expressed its outrage at the reported execution of a girl believed to be 16 years old for “acts incompatible with chastity”. Ateqeh Rajabi was reportedly publicly hanged on a street in the city centre of Neka, northern Iran, on 15 August 2004.

Amnesty International is alarmed that this execution was carried out despite reports that Ateqeh Rajabi was not believed to be mentally competent, and that she reportedly did not have access to a lawyer at any stage.

During the trial the judge allegedly severely criticised her dress, harshly reprimanding her. It is alleged that Ateqeh Rajabi was mentally ill both at the time of her crime (having sexual relations outside of wedlock) and during her trial proceedings.

It is also reported that although her national ID card stated that she was 16 years old, the Judiciary announced at her execution that her age was 22. Ateqeh Rajabi’s co-defendant, an unnamed man, was reportedly sentenced to 100 lashes. He was released after this sentence was carried out.
/snip

[Enraged_Ape]

1. Don't think for a second that the fundies in the good ol' USA...

wouldn't be doing this if they could get away with it. This kind of report is like porn for them.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

2. absolutely!

Well said :thumbsup:

[amber dog democrat]

16. This is right out of Margaret Attwood's The Handmaid's Tale.

If a theocracy gets underway, figure out how to leave the country.

[Jacobin]

3. You've got it. It'll be another "rape room" cry to invade Iran

to "free" the people.

[Mizmoon]

6. Of course, these folks forget America's 'rape rooms'

They are called 'prisons'. Every American male knows that if he goes to prison, the odds of his being raped by fellow prisoners while the guards ignore his screams, is about 100%. American women know that in prison, their odds of being raped by men who have power over her is very high as well.

But somehow many Americans think this sort of thing is 'part of the punishment'. They don't see themselves as rape room advocates - but it's true.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

9. Hate to say it but there's a high percentage of non-whites in our prisons

hence the lack of "official" public interest.

[Vladimir]

11. Didn't the US execute that mentally ill

guy a while back anyow? Can't remember the details...

[amber dog democrat]

15. It was Kelsey Patterson

His last statement:

Statement to what.  State What.  I am not guilty of the charge of capital murder.  Steal me and my family's money.  My truth will always be my truth.  There is no kin and no friend; no fear what you do to me.  No kin to you undertaker.  Murderer.  Get my money.  Give me my rights.  Give me my rights.  Give me my rights.  Give me my life back.

Its evident that something is seriously wrong when Texas executes mentally ill, and mentally incompetent offenders. Plus there are a number who ought not to be there in the first place.

[Vladimir]

18. He who is without sin and all that... n/t

[YellowRubberDuckie]

34. And what's sick about this...

Is they fought to be able to do it! People who don't have the mental capacity to understand what they've done, thank God, has been shot down by the supreme court. I guess they're useful for something.
Duckie

[amber dog democrat]

35. There is not much that is "just" about criminal justice

in Texas. Texas is a state where ethnicity, socio economic status, and the lack of connections weigh into sentences. I am thinking the Durst trial and the T Cullen Davis trial are good examples.

Look at the mess in Tulia too.

The system is still a machine characterized by a mean spirited social attitude reflected in the judges and district attorneys - and I believe that it is predacious in nature.
Don't fall into its clutches. It will cost you. Regarding law enforcement, I give them name, rank and serial number - " and yes sir, no sir,,. three bags full " but this is for speeding tickets. I get one every 10 years or so.

Having been in some jury selections a few times ( but never picked ), I came away with a very cynical attitude regarding courts and our legal system.
I wish some experience could convince me otherwise .

[Vladimir]

36. I doubt you will get picked for jury

service anytime soon... you think too much my friend.

[amber dog democrat]

45. and actually I don't WANT to be picked.

Getting bogged down in the process of yet another travesty would be depressing.
Its a no-win situation. Yet I do take this responsibility seriously and would serve if required.

You probably think too much too. Stop reading.

[Mr.Green93]

28. Ricky Ray Rector?

[Frodo]

65. Yeah, but at least it was for murder. Not "walked with non spouse"

The shock here is less that they sentenced someone to death who was not an adult. It was that a woman can't even walk next to a man who isn't her father or husband without getting killed for it.

And frankly, I'm a tad upset that the man can get 100 lashes for the same thing. But I don't mean to be sexist.

[gatlingforme]

19. Thanks for your post. Prisoners getting raped is considered by

some as justifiable considering they are convicted criminals. THis mentality is sick and perverted and a sad commentary on their LACK OF compassion for other individuals. These type of people tend to forget that they themselves or a loved one could be in that predicament at any time --- . The lack of empathy is staggering.

[iamjoy]

60. It Isn't Even A Crime

I mean, I read somewhere that in the U.S. it is not a crime in some states for a male C.O. (prison guard) to rape a female inmate. Don't have any verification on this

[chimpy the poopthrower]

74. I find that pretty hard to believe.

And I am completely in agreement that prison rape in the U.S. is one of the most terrible human rights problems in this country. Perhaps what you read is that it is not a crime for a prison guard to have "consentual" sex with an inmate -- that the power relationship is ignored and it is considered possible for an inmate to "consent" to relations with a guard? I would find something like that easier to believe.

[Vladimir]

8. The only light at the end of this particular

tunnel is that unlike Iraq, Iran could actually defend itself. And I think even the BFEE are not stupid enough not to realise that...

[devinsgram]

4. Only they would have had her stoned.

[BiggJawn]

21. Think "It couldn't happen HERE"? Guess again!

If the Dominionists take control, which they could if Calico Johnie is retained as AG "For the duration" We'll be seeing this and worse in our country.

Maybe there's a REASON some of us are so "hostile" to so-called "Christians"...

Don't forget: "Every Head shall BOW, Every Knee shall BEND" is their slogan.

[Sputnik]

32. Sure, they'd do that, but while

downloading porn on the internet.

I'm not even amazed anymore at how many "Conservative" males bemoan America's "permissive culture" but then turn around and talk in an anything but gentlemanly way about some "hot" teenage girl they saw on the street or on the internet. To these type of males, women...all women...are their property.

We all know guys like that. They preach against abortion, saying the girl shouldn't have "spread her legs" in the first place, but treat women (especially the young ones) as sex objects.

There's a word for people like that....

[smirkymonkey]

50. Yeah, Asshole.

It's interesting to see a thread on such a tragic and unjust act committed on an innocent 16 year old girl, yet most of the posts in this thread have veered off into a discussion of Abu Ghraib and other tangents, and have neatly avoided mentioning any outrage at what actually happened here.

I am so sick of this kind of violence toward women being overlooked and downplayed. This is sick act by people who have a completely fucked up approach toward social justice.

And fuck religion and culture. There is NO excuse for it! Our culture is sick and violent in it's own way, and that should be condemned as well, but I am sick of people justifying these heinous acts by a bunch of PC "Let's not condemn ANY Muslims" type of crap.

This is not to condemn ALL Muslims, just as criticizing the sick acts of certain Christian fundamentalists isn't meant to condemn ALL Christians. But let's call an outrage and outrage when we see it, regardless of skin color or cultural background.

- "When men are oppressed, it's tragedy. When women are oppressed, it's tradition." Bernadette Mosala

[chimpy the poopthrower]

51. Are you reading the same thread I'm reading?

Show me anyone who is "justifying these heinous acts by a bunch of PC 'Let's not condemn ANY Muslims' type of crap".
:shrug:

[smirkymonkey]

53. Ok, justifying is the wrong word, I admit it

I am just beyond pissed off at the state of the world at the moment.

However, by not actually condemning the act or the people who committed it, there is a tacit, albiet unconscious, "acceptance" of the act in question. Notice I did not say approval.

If it was Fox News and not Amnesty International on the case, I would perhaps work in the demonizing of Iran issue as well. Even if it is a case of demonizing Iran, which is wrong, the act itself and the cultural norms behind it are morally despicable and should be condemned on their own.

A sixteen year old girl, executed for nothing, except perhaps her incipient womanhood, is a grave tragedy and should be seen as such.

[MetaTrope]

54. I for one would like more information

Amnesty seems to be basing their report on two stories reported on the web, which have two different versions of the girl's name between them ("Rajabi" vs. "Sahaleh"). The real crux of the matter is, what was the substance of the Iranian Supreme Court decision that supposedly green-lighted the execution? That information isn't provided. Thus, I'm more inclined to see this as the act of a single crazy judge, rather than an institutional practice. It's not as if all American justices masturbate in court with a penis pump just because one did.

[chimpy the poopthrower]

73. If people are not condemning it...

...that's probably because it is so obviously a deplorable thing that it seems unnecessary to do so. Personally, when I see a thread about, say, someone committing some heinous act of abuse against a child or an animal and I see 20 responses that basically just say how terrible it is, I feel like I'm wasting my time on the thread. Of course it's terrible, but isn't there anything else to say about it -- something that adds a new perspective or new information?

[George W. Dunce]

80. Some one always will

"that's probably because it is so obviously a deplorable thing that it seems unnecessary to do so."

Come on how, many times have we seen some fool in government condemn an act of terra. Like the Bali blasts or the theater hostage situation in Russia. As if they were going to come out and say that they support the actions. Some jack ass somewhere has to come out and put their mug in front of the camera to condemn some thing that is painfully obvious to the rest of us.

[Sputnik]

75. Excuse you?!

Why am I an asshole for my post? I think what happened to this girl was sick, but I was responding to a different thread in this topic. Being FEMALE myself, I am appalled at how women are treated in our country AND around the world.

Don't stoop to name-calling. That's a freeper tactic. We're on the same side here, so please get off my ass.

[arikara]

81. I don't think he was calling you that...

He was only answering your rhetorical question. I had to look at it twice too.

On edit: welcome to DU by the way

[Sputnik]

92. Arikara, thank you for the welcome

I hope you're right. I still don't read his/her response that way, but what can I do about it? lol

My original intent was to reply to the post saying that there are people in our country who would stoop to the same tactics if they could. IMO, poor treatment of women is global, even if some parts of the world experience more violent acts. It was my mistake for veering off to another point, I'm sure.

I read the DU board for a long time before ever posting. Maybe that was a better policy, lol. I get enough guff from Republicans. I had hoped this would be a friendlier place to post.

Thank you again for your opinion. I do appreciate it.

Peace. :)

[arikara]

106. Not to worry, it is friendly here

just moves fast and people can get intense sometimes. Keep on posting, your opinions are definitely valid and welcome.

[smirkymonkey]

95. No, no, no... not YOU! I was refering to your line

"There's a name for a person like that..." and my response was "yeah, Asshole (is the name for people like that)"

Sorry if that came off the wrong way, I was agreeing with you and elaborating on your thoughts. So sorry! :dunce:

This world is so fucked up I am just going crazy with a sense of rage and powerlessness. I am at the point where all this hate and injustice just seems bigger than the movement to end it. And the sad thing is, it has made me hateful! I know that's the wrong response, but I can't help it.

I need to go live on a deserted island or something. I can't take it anymore.

[Sputnik]

99. Oh, whew!

I am SO glad you helped me understand that one. I see now what you meant! I think I've just posted too much on too many political boards today and my IQ is suffering for it. I totally empathize with your feelings of helplessness. It's maddening to me too. You're not alone, trust me.

I may not be ready to go live on a deserted island yet, but a vacation there would surely be nice. :D

I apologize for my mixup. I'll read more carefully before responding next time, I promise. :crazy:

[Jokinomx]

103. SmirkyMonkey.....Can I come with you....please...

I have always thought I would do better in a small tribe of people working together to survive on this planet. I really think it is a feeling of a past incarnation.....oh well...there is no turning back... we can only go forward. :hippie:

:dem:

[Jokinomx]

102. Welcome to the Underground Sputnik....:-)

This has been quite a thread... your comments are valid. Thanks for posting them....I look forward to reading more of your opinions in the future...

:toast:

:dem:

[jdj]

78. I'm kind of shocked at how quick it veered off, too. n/t

[Claire Beth]

55. you are so right!!! n/t

[JVS]

79. On the bright side it would bring an end to ill fitting low-rise jeans

[Child_Of_Isis]

91. I'm believing it! n/t

[The Zanti Regent]

97. This is what the ASSemblies of GAWD and the Southern Baptists want

If they want a theocracy, first they should punish their own perverts!

[bowens43]

5. These guys sound like bushes base........

[Tight_rope]

105. Yes he does....Only that Bush will have us wear the "Scarlet Letter"!

[Joanne98]

7. Why do Holy men think women are the root of all evil

It seems like all they do is think about women's clothing. The thug fundies would just love to turn us into Iran.

[kayell]

49. Why do "holy" men think that sex is evil?

Answer that it we might come a bit closer to the other answer.

Apparently their gods are so flawed and sadistic that they created humans (and all other animals) with an irresistable instinct to sin their brains out.

[MercutioATC]

10. Hmmm...sounds like we're gearing up for "torture chamber" allegations.

Y'all remember what happened the LAST time we heard that, don't ya?

[dawgman]

12. Exactly my thought. Get the populace outraged at the atrocious human

rights record of the Iranian regime and begin selling the coming US invasion of Iran.

Maybe I am just paranoid, but I swear I have seen this pattern before.

[jdj]

You know what?

There are people, most of them women, who are already outraged and overwhelmed with the conditions that islamic fundamentalism imposes on women, people who have felt this way for decades. And they give a damn about the sixteen year old who lost her life, and her boyfriend who was tortured, regardless of whatever political winds are blowing.

Trust me, they are not making these stories up. If they are using them for political means then I say MORE POWER TO THEM. Especially if it is the only way to get Americans to give a damn. What if we had taken the moral high road after Carter, and developed alternative engergy sources, and conserved, and refused to deal with these fucking pieces of shit just based on their record of HUMAN (yes, women ARE human) rights violations of women? The world would be a different place.

[dawgman]

94. Look I understand all of that. I know that these horrific things are

happening all over. The fact is that these instances of human rights violations are not being trumpeted by the corporate media and others because of some altruistic feelings of outrage over the horrible plight of women around the globe. These thing are going on in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan as well but we rarely hear about them. They are our allies and we are not pushing for war with them.

The timing of this puts me off is all. Conservative America doesn't give a shit about these girls and women unless it gives them an excuse to further their own sordid agenda.

[jdj]

82. dupe

[mzmolly]

13. That's what I was thinking, though Amnesty International is pretty

honest in their work.

The US has numerous violations on record with them.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

14. Yeah - this is Amnesty not Fox

there's a WORLD of difference

[Vladimir]

17. That doesn't stop the spin that will

be placed on this. I don't think anyone here would dispute that Iran's justice system would, um, fall short of western european standards (which is basically Amensty's yardstick). On the other hand this sort of data can be used as a pretext for all sorts of things by countries with less-than-perfect human rights records (eg. the US, UK). Amnesty provides a lot of ammunition for those who wish to misuse it...

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

22. That is true

people can make of this what ever they wish.

I'm sure more than one Amnesty report was cited in our rush to kill Iraqis

[geek tragedy]

62. So?

Amnesty also gives a lot of ammuntion to anti-American terrorists when it criticizes the US human rights record, by that logic.

The bastards need to be exposed, no matter where they live or which god they purport to worship.

[Vladimir]

66. The media already spend all their time

documenting abuses of human rights in the third world, and this is often used as pretext to then invade said third world countries. By comparison, no-one is invading the US over Guantanamo - on the contrary, most of Europe has barely mustered the courage to beg the US to have its citizens returned. This is not to say that this particular action is anything short of grotesque - sexist murder is that always - just that I would rather focus on those abuses not already recieving widerspread press everywhere...

[geek tragedy]

67. The US abuses are the most publicized and discussed abuses in the world.

Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo are about one million times more well known than anything Iran has done. And they do aid AQ in its recruiting--and that is Bush's fault.

Of course no one is invading the US. Just like no one invaded the USSR or China or North Korea.

Human rights is rarely advanced in the US as the primary reason to invade. The primary justification is always security-related--either in a grand geopolitical sense or oil or something like that. Human rights is the frosting, not the cake.

The Repugs opposed the intervention in Kosovo.

The bright light of publicity gives hope to people in Iran that the world has not forgotten them, and it pressures the Mullahs to reform.

The truth is a servant of justice, not evil.

[Vladimir]

69. Gives them hope that the world has not forgotten them?

After watching Iraq, I am betting most of them hope they have been forgotten, if that is what it looks like when the world remembers you and rescues you from the clutches of tyranny...

[geek tragedy]

85. Because the only two options in the world are US invasion and domestic

tyranny?

Sorry, I don't buy that dichotomy. And neither do the Iranians trying to overthrow the mullahcracy.

[Vladimir]

89. I wish the Iranians the best of luck

I am a communist after all. Disliking theocracies is in my blood. But I do not presume to think that their job will be made one iota easier by foreign pressure, and if anything its probably counterproductive to have the US and UK championing your cause.

[jdj]

83. WTF??????????????????

So just when is it politically correct in your book to give a damn about these kids????????

stunned and speechless.

[geek tragedy]

86. If Bush doesn't like someone, we're not supposed to criticize their record

or document their crimes. Didn't you get the memo?

[Vladimir]

88. Well I could have gone on here and posted

'Oh my god how fucking aweful, I am so fucking glad I don't live in a theocracy where human interactions are regulated by a 1300 year old set of customs.' Because I am pretty sure that, broadly speaking, that is what all of us feel when reading these reports. But to tell you the truth, I am tired of hearing about how aweful Iran is, or how aweful Iraq was, or how aweful Afganistan was and so on, because it always feels that I am hearing this crap as the prologue to an explanation of how maybe we need to go and 'liberate' another third world nation and enlighten the savages. Yes its aweful. Of course its fucking aweful. But these kids do not need me or you to give a fuck about them by protesting in front of the Iranian embassy about these abuses - they need us to give a fuck by protesting our governments who have been exploiting and stoking conflict in the entire region for years.

[Jokinomx]

20. I often wonder how man has made it this far!!!!

It saddens me to hear such stories. Yet they are real. They happen all around the world. In India... its leagal to throw fuel on your wife and set her a blaze.. In some countries in Africa they circumsize yound girls and mame them for life...

Then we have these so called rightous people murdering the female and allowing the male to go free. She most likely didn't even have a choice in the first place.

[JNelson6563]

24. Man, it's easy, women, that's another story

Men make the rules, men do the executing, it's easy for man to survive in a man's world.

Ugh.

Julie

[seventhson]

23. Girls 15 are jailed for such conduct in the USA.

and the boys generally are let off.

But the danger is that incarcerated young girls run the risk of suicide, longterm institutionalization and/or chemicalization (either self medication or medical prescritpions).

It is NOT hanging, that is for sure, but it CAN be a death sent4ence for some girls who cannot emotionally manage "the system".

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

25. you're dead on

very well said :thumbsup:

[CTLawGuy]

26. what conduct?

wearing revealing clothes? Maybe in Utah, but not where I'm from.

Any crime having to do with sex, usually its the man who is punished to the greater degree.

[seventhson]

27. suspected sexual activity

can get a fifteen year old locked up. Girls OR boys, legally, but judges usually only incarcerate girls "for their own protection" and as punishment. Once they are locked up they become eligible for incarceration for up to four years (if they break any of the rules or run away, escape, etc.)

It is a nightmare for these girls. Many of them end up on the run and are taken advantage of - others rot in juvenile facilities and institutions and eventually are damaged emotionally for years or end up locked up for years. Many will not report abuse and are abused IN the facilities or homes where they are sent.

I work with such kids and know whereof I speak.

[CTLawGuy]

29. where do you live

Saudi Arabia? I've never heard of a 15 year old girl locked up in this country for having sex... now, the 18 year old man who she has sex with, who is a few months above the age difference limit, he will go away for a decade or more, and have to register as a sex offender.

[seventhson]

31. I live in the USA

and I handle juvenile cases as a part-time public defender.

These cases are generally confidential so only the families and DCF know about them outside of the courts.

[CTLawGuy]

33. so Im guessing

a girl is not locked up for simple "suspected sexual activity". There are other problems involved simultaneously, ie maybe drug use, stealing from parents, truancy etc.

I never guessed that having sex is a crime.

[seventhson]

38. You guess wrong. Parents and court officals can file complaints

against females under the age of sixteen for suspected sexual activity.

If the girl is perceived to be a risk to herself because of this activity (pregnancy, disease, etc.) then she can be incarcerated after a court hearing. No other problems need be addressed = altho it is usually repeated conduct (usually with a boyfriend) in violation of court orders that gets her locked up.

But a commitment and incarceration CAN occur with only suspicion, if the evidence supports the probability that she is sexually active (staying out all night with no explanation is often enough).

[bobthedrummer]

43. I worked as a Youth Aid Worker II with mostly adjudicated boys and girls

in a residential facility. I was the sole 3rd shift staff, made every 15 minute bedchecks-like a corrections worker:wtf: Sometimes I filled in for teachers and worked extra hours with the day staff.

Plus I had a second job in an adolescent AODA program in a hospital setting.

Those of us that were ethical sometimes were alone in the dark.

[noonwitch]

72. I used to be a delinquency worker, like a youth parole officer

The stories I would hear from staff at the training school, and from my kids, on occasion, are horrific. I can't discuss specifics, but rape is pretty common in the juvenile system. The placements are understaffed and overcrowded. The worst two situations I knew about were in the county youth home and the state temporary detention facility, places where kids were not segregated by their offenses, so it was entirely possible for a runaway to share a cell with a sex offender. The treatment programs they went to after detention were targeted toward their particular needs, so the risks were not the same at that point. The drug offenders went to drug treatment, the sex offenders went to secure treatment facilities for sex offenders, the murderers and untreatable sex offenders (those who were either older, particularly violent in their methods, or who had been through treatment to no avail) went to lockdown. The status offenders usually went to community-based programs, or home on a tether.

[wicket]

30. This is so disgusting

:(

[theboss]

37. Um, is anyone going to actually condemn this act?

Or is everyone just going to fantasize about how it could happen in the US?

[seventhson]

39. It is a crime against humanity

and I condemn it.

[smirkymonkey]

52. Thank you!

See my above post.

[MetaTrope]

40. Just feeling a touch skeptical at this point...

When the junta is ratcheting up the disinformation machine about Iran, and the story seems to have originated from only a single Iranian website, in Farsi.

The only notice that the city of Neka seems to have gotten in the news in recent years, is that it's the new terminal of a pipeline for oil from neighboring Caspian Sea states:
http://www.payvand.com/news/04/apr/1194.html

And there's some controversial exploration drilling there as well:
http://www.iran-press-service.com/articles_2001/mar_2001/iran_caspian_oil_10301.htm

[theboss]

41. Does Amnesty Int'l typically fall for propaganda?

I've always believed that they vetted these stories.

[MetaTrope]

42. One would hope they vet the stories

But then again, they did advance the Kuwaiti babies pulled from incubators story.

[ksatriyakiller]

44. poor Persians dominated by barbaric Arab culture

persians used to be great now look at them.

[Ms. Clio]

68. "barbaric Arab culture"

What utter rot. You should be ashamed.

[Gregorian]

46. Change the Q to an N.

I suspect the news will be "all Iran, all the time" now. Until the American turkeys are all mesmerized into their war acceptance mode.

Sorry, but this isn't news. This has been going on since the first week mankind set foot on this planet.

News will be when Americans drag Bush out of the White House.

[nolabels]

47. Propaganda for part of multi-pronged approach to wage war in Iran?

Isn’t there anything about beheadings in Saudi Arabia or being boiled to death in excrement in Uzbekistan? How convenient x(

[struggle4progress]

48. Hanged for not keeping her mouth shut?

Iran blasted for hanging of girl in chastity case
August 24, 2004
... The judge in the case said he was punishing the 16-year-old for her "sharp tongue," according to the Iran Focus Web site ...
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-iran24.html

[Catfight]

56. But it's OKAY to slaughter hundreds of Sudanese! It's time to invade

Iran, oh the big bad Iranians are out to get us and hate us for our freedoms!

[MetaTrope]

57. Another case where I take a jaundiced view of conservative calls to action

Why is all this happening in Sudan in the first place? Because the Christian warlords in the south were armed by Western oil companies who didn't want to get their drilling rights through the Sudanese government.

[geek tragedy]

61. Wow, do you have a source for that?

Because it sounds like a great big heaping pile of bullshit and genocide apologism from where I'm standing.

[progressivebydesign]

58. This is sick.. but I'm wondering WHY we're hearing all this now???

Hmmm... you wouldn't think that IRAN was the next stop on PNAC's march against the Middle East, would you? I thought it was Syria. But once we start this war in Iran, tales from Syria will emerge.

Interesting.. I guess the genocide in Sudan is okay, because they are black and have no oil. Because Bush appears to be ignoring them... Wonder what PR firm the PNAC is using now to attack Iran??

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

64. I got this from Amnesty's site - so the timing is theirs

I am not suspicious of the timing

[WilliamPitt]

71. Because they hanged her

[jdj]

84. We're hearing it because someone posted it from the Amnesty

site.

Because they put in in LBN

Surprise, I haven't heard it anywhere else.

I can't come up with a word for how nauseated I am that people are reacting with the attitude "they're trying to trick us."

What about the victimsf?

Dead is dead, regardless of what political manipulation may have been going on at the time

I can't believe people are so stupid they think this is not common-place under sharia law and therefore think it is trumped up propaganda. Honor killings have been documented in Britain, and I'm sure they take place in the U.S. as well.

Now I know why they call us stupid Americans.

[chimpy the poopthrower]

87. The reason people are skeptical...

...is probably because they are remembering the babies being removed from incubator stories that were later debunked. Because this comes from Amnesty International, and because this doesn't seem inconsistent with Iran's record on human rights, I believe it. But you can't blame people for having some skepticism these days. As George W. Bush says, "Fool me once..." Well, you know the rest. ;-)

[StevieM]

59. This government in Iran is disgusting

If we had to invade someone, then I wish it had been them. The Persian people truly hate their "leaders". And the clerics have no moral dilemas staying in power after multiple humiliating electoral defeats. In fact...they adjusted to the defeats by rigging the last elections.

Steve

[Swamp Rat]

76. I couldn't disagree with you more

Invading Iran would only concentrate power in the Mullahs and stop the slow march to democracy, plus Iran has three times the population of Iraq and a functioning, battle hardened army. If I were you, I'd be more worried about election rigging in the USA.

Welcome to DU

[StevieM]

90. I'm plenty worried about election rigging in the U.S.

Sadly, I have a terrible feeling that Bush might steal the election again. He and his brother will certainly go all out to steal Florida. These men have contempt for Democracy.

I try to be balanced when it comes to the use of force. I was against the war in Iraq, but sometimes I think it is justified.

Thanks for welcoming me to DU, Swamp Rat! I think I am going to like it here.

Steve

[iamjoy]

63. Happens A Lot, Sadly

Some Muslims have something called "honor killings" where if a woman is unchaste her family is responsible for "avenging" the "crime" by killing the woman. Sadaam Hussein used to sometimes prosecute honor killings. The new Iraqi government does not.

It's in the Pentateuch

[Darranar]

70. Disgusting and despicable...

there is absolutely no justification for this killing.

The death penalty is always wrong, and when applied to children who may be mentally unstable for questionable crimes, it is nothing but criminal.

[Politicub]

77. I thought this was a headline from the future

Next week -- from the GOP national convention. A delegate gets out of line, and Bush orders the gallows to come out.

Make no mistake; there are many American fundamentalists who are not-so-closeted supporters of this type of punishment.

[Citizen Daryl]

93. Bush's dilemma ...

I can say that Iran is bad because they're executing 16-year-old girls ...

... but then I might piss off my 'abstinence-only' constituents.

[rumguy]

96. Hey! WTF! This has nothing to do with *!

There are some bad, fucked up people in the world, and that has nothing to do with * or any other right winger. A sixteen year old girl was hanged for basically nothing - that is disgusting and it is wrong. It was done by Islamic fundamentalists. They are not nice people.

What, is Amnesty International now working for *?

:wtf:

[bobbyboucher]

98. Before or after they cutt off her clitoris?

Religiocrazies at it again.

[struggle4progress]

107. Female Circumcision Is NOT Required by Islam

by Dr Hassan Hathout, a gynaecologist, a Board Member of the Minaret, a bi-monthly magazine published by the Islamic Centre of Southern California

1. Female circumcision is a habit practised long before Isla. Its map of distribution does not coincide with the Islamic map, and includes parts of Russia, some Asian (uncluding some Arab) tribes, parts of South America and the Nile valley (Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia). Female circumcision is still being practised by both Non-Muslims and Muslims in these countries. However, at present in Egypt and Sudan only Muslims practise it, (a minority in Egypt and more in Sudan) ...
http://www.islamic-paths.org/Home/English/Issues/Sexuality/Circumcision_Female.htm


FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
In Africa, The Middle East & Far East

... FGM has spread to countries in or near Africa (e.g. Egypt) which are Muslim. But FGM is rare or nonexistent in many other Muslim countries. Examples are Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey. Also, It is not done in the Maghreb countries of Northwest Africa ...

http://www.religioustolerance.org/fem_cirm.htm

[Skittles]

100. *sniff*

I firmly believe there is a Hell - but it is on earth.

[agincourt]

101. There were a lot of CNN and Fox news people warning,

That if we did a mass display of military force west of Iran's border, that it would strengthem the radical shiite ayatollahs. Yeah right, more fallout from a clueless foreign policy.

[Classical_Liberal]

104. Yet another reason to hope Hugo Chavez creates a trend

religious extremists and neoliberals are the enemies of the poor, the ill and women, not to mention children. We need to a rebellion against both systems of oppression.