DEATH by stoning for convicted adulterers is being written into Afghan law, a senior official said, the latest sign that human rights won at great cost since the Taliban were ousted in 2001 are rolling back as foreign troops withdraw.
“We are working on the draft of a sharia penal code where the punishment for adultery, if there are four eyewitnesses, is stoning,” said Rohullah Qarizada, who is part of the sharia Islamic law committee working on the draft and head of the Afghan Independent Bar Association.
Billions have been invested on promoting human rights in Afghanistan over more than 12 years of war and donors fear that hard won progress, particularly for women, may be eroding.
During the Taliban’s 1996-2001 time in power, convicted adulterers were routinely shot or stoned in executions held mostly on Fridays. Women were not permitted to go out on their own, girls were barred from schools and men were obliged to grow long beards.
Providing fresh evidence popular support for the brutal punishment has endured, two lovers narrowly escaped being stoned in Baghlan province north of Kabul, but were publicly shot over the weekend instead, officials said.
“While they were fleeing, suddenly their car crashed and locals arrested them. People wanted to stone them on the spot but some elders disagreed,” the provincial head of women’s affairs, Khadija Yaqeen, told Reuters on Monday.
“The next day they decided and shot both of them dead in public. Our findings show that the woman’s father had ordered to shoot both man and woman.”
The public execution was confirmed by the provincial police chief’s spokesman, who said the killings were unlawful.
“It is absolutely shocking that 12 years after the fall of the Taliban government, the Karzai administration might bring back stoning as a punishment,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
Bryan Patterson's Faithworks 
How do you propose to prevent the same thing happening here when some ‘authority’ decides “It’s Time!” ??
,,,,as has already happened in the ‘outlawing’ and persecution of, for example, ‘Bikie Gangs’.
But wait! ~ everybody agrees that’s a good thing, don’t they?
Perhaps that’s why, primed by a sycophantic Press, nobody else raised a loud protest ~ let alone rebelled ~ when the smarmy sleazebags (elected. as they were) publicly proudly declared the ‘new legislation’.
….and probably why none of them were raided last week by seven, (count ’em: SEVEN) stoney-faced gangsters carrying semi-automatic weapons, on the strength of an illegible sheet of paper they waved about …..and my data-banked record from decades ago. Though I noticed they did have a recent recent photo of me.
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Actually there has been quite a protest against the Qld laws Dabs. And rightly so I think.
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Onya mate. I know your heart’s in the right place. But there are times when only action counts. “Protests” can only go so far ~ and the standard strategy is for the ‘authority’ to make an announcement, allow everybody to blow off steam….and then just quietly introduce the new applications down the track when the protestors have become used to the idea, and been distracted by the next ‘crisis’…..or football match.
For example, I see on this morning’s news that the political-machines/police-forces of 5 states have conspired to introduce “Tough New Road Rules” for just about everything ~ including littering and other non-road-related transgressions ~ and the provision for on-the-spot loss-of-licence for ANY of those offences.
So you can lose your house because you can’t get to work because you’ve lost your licence because you’ve littered…or failed to pay your dog-registration fee or whatever.
….and the riff-raff-in-the-street will just let it slide and hope THEY’RE overlooked because the ‘authority’ is too busy abusing other people.
.”…..and when they came for me….. there was no-one left to speak for me.”
Where’s Mad Max when we need him.?
Just consider: What is it that bestows “authority” upon ‘The Authority’?
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Here’s another aspect of the en-masse Big Brother approach to things ~ and the small minority who try stand up to it are betrayed by the complacency of the dozy majority.
Background:- The lib-nats were (partially) elected due to the coercive deal the alp had done with the power industry, in that they promised to repeal the whole smart-meter process if elected, on the grounds of health and fire risks and the large potential for electronically invading the privacy of ALL power users ~ but didn’t mention the bullying and industry-control element of the roll-out.. (I have a couple of reams of letters from the lib-nat then-OPPOSITION, along with copious notes and Parliamentary reports sent to me from the then-shadow minister Michael O’Brien.
They staged a three-minute review immediately they were elected and soon after announced that they had no option but to continue the roll-out ‘due to contractual reasons’.
My argument was that the government was elected to rule for the benefit of the population, and had the power to legislate ANY previous deal null-and-void.
Heard nothing further except a slew of complaints from assorted individuals about the bullying, fear-raising and outright threatening of the power companies when they asked questions or declared they wouldn’t comply. The Industry (and government ~ via the DPI) insisted they had a “mandate” to install the meters, and intimidated a lot of people into complying.
But there are the die-hards, and they organised and are currently gearing up for a class-action court challenge based on a large volume of evidence from interstate and overseas, and other more personal issues.
Here’s a progress report:- take particular note of the links.
http://stopsmartmeters.com.au/
And even if you don’t give a stuff about a few dollars, or even if you reckon ‘Smart Meters’ are a good thing, try to remember when the term ‘Principle’ had some meaning for you.
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The Queensland bikie law reminds me on Germany 1959, when Hitler decided to eliminate the Jews. He had number of reasons, one of the least know is the wealth of the Jewish population. He declared them unwanted and not one single nation lifted finger to protest. The powers in Europe, France and Great Britten have done nothing to help the Jews. Millions perished with our blessing.
We have a situation in Queensland, where group of people are persecuted on the ground of belonging, not on the ground of been convinced of criminal activity. I see little difference between Hitler and our current political leaders, using propaganda and scary tactics to get support from the populace.
Word of warning here; today are the “Illegal” bikie clubs with I am sure sometimes manufactured evidence the target. Will you be the next? When politics and interest groups start dictate the rest of us where to go and how, our lives are in danger. We are signing blank cheque. We are shifting the power of deciding into the hands of egoistic people, who want to make name for themselves at any price. We, the people are the real masters, having delegated few to do our will. That is the only purpose of any public servant, starting by prime minister all the way down to the last scribe in local council. The whole hierarchy is to serve us, the people of this country. Never forget that.
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Perfectly said, fossall.
And ” ….the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.”
But only if it’s backed up by a willingness to fight.
(John Howard saw all this coming ~ and he’s cited more and more often by today’s ruling gangs ; it’s the real reason for outlawing gun-ownership by anyone but those approved by the State.)
But the scariest thing of all is that Hitler had very sound reasons for persecuting the jews……from a Hitlerian point of view.
So do Abbott and Napthine. et al
If one accepts ‘Evil’ as being, then Zealotry must be among the foremost of its angels.
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fossall on November 26, 2013 at 23:44 said:
“The Queensland bikie law reminds me on Germany 1959, when Hitler decided to eliminate the Jews.”
A German friend said this, and was told ‘It’s not so serious, not the same.’ He replied that it was exactly the same, and should be treated seriously.
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It should be 1939
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….and so it came to pass..–>
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http://forcechange.com/93259/dont-bring-death-by-stoning-back-to-afghanistan/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ForceChange+%28ForceChange%29
PETITION LETTER:
Dear President Hamid Karzai,
I understand that there is a proposal to reinstate stoning as a form of capital punishment in your country. I also understand that for more than a decade your nation has not supported such a cruel and agonizing punishment and I cannot comprehend why anyone would support it. I am begging you to ensure that this proposal does not get made into law, as it violates international human rights standards. Stoning is not only an excruciating way to die, but it is considered torture.
A couple should not be stoned to death because of adultery. If the death penalty is used, it should be for much more severe cases than this. Your nation has pledged to support human rights, and by making this law you going back on this promise. I urge you to do everything in your power to reject this proposal.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
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