Harsh Penalties Remain for Gays in Afghanistan
Washington Blade,
April 19, 2002
AFGHANISTAN—According to an Associated Press report, although the Taliban
has fled, the country’s "sharia," or Islamic law, remains in
place. Fazel Hadi Shinwari, recently appointed chief of Afghanistan’s
Supreme Court, said gays can still be punished by being hurled from a high
place or having a wall toppled onto them. Other Islamic laws that have
remained include death by stoning for those convicted of adultery; Shinwari
added that such punishments would only be carried out following a detailed
legal process during which the accused can contest the charges and appeal for:
clemency and measures such as paying restitution could avoid harsh sentences.
"We will not be like the Taliban," Shinwari said. "They used to
hold one quick hearing, with no lawyers or witnesses, take the person away to
the stadium and carry out the sentence in front of everyone. That was wrong.
That blackened the name of Islam."
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