Fatima al Nashar, a new victim of domestic violence in Tripoli and justice awaits for Roula Yacoub

During the past few days, newspapers in Lebanon reported intensively on Fatima an Nashar, a new victim of family violence, perpetrated this time by her husband, her brother in law and her mother in law as a result of which she was admitted to the Islamic Hospital after Minister Faysal Karami decided to pay her medical bill, and that many hospitals refused to admit her as she does not carry her ID card.  Abdallah al Nashar, the victim’s father shared the details of the attack on his daughter who is pregnant and also a mother of three children the eldest being four years of age.  The father noted that his son in law is a soldier in the Lebanese army and has been frequently assaulting his daughter forcing her to flee her house and to go back to her parents.  Fatmeh had only returned to her husband 3 days before  the latter violently attacked her and threatened her and her family with his machine gun.  Fatmeh was subsequently discharged from the hospital and returned to her father’s house yesterday whilst the internal security forces arrested her husband and his brother but were contented with simply questioning her mother in law.
To be noted that the women committee of Dar el Fatwa in Tripoli and the North organised a sit in to express solidarity with Fatmeh.  The president of the said committee, Ms. Maha al Fawal noted that their action was carried out to express their refusal of the culture of violence and aggression in society at large and within family relations.  She called on the judiciary not to be lenient and take on serious measures to contain aggressors and so as to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.  To be noted that the same women body had earlier objected to the law proposal to protect women from domestic violence and this according to Al Akhbar newspaper.
Meanwhile, and on a related vein, the family of victim Roula Yaakoub, mother of four, who passed away more than six months ago after being savagely beaten by her husband, expressed grave concerns, with the discrepancies in the forensic reports issued in Tripoli, and fears of apparent intention to dilute the matter and allow for their daughter’s killer to leave prison.  Indeed, the post mortem forensic reports had established that death was due to a neck break directly caused by the beating.  However, new “forensic reports” are now claiming that the death is due to congenital malformation and is unrelated to the abuse perpetrated by the husband.    To be reminded, two months after the death of their daughter, the family of the victims succeeded in securing an authorization for an inhumation and an autopsy as well as for advanced radiology tests to establish the cause of death.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Safir, Al-Nahar, Al-Akhbar, Al-Mustaqbal, http://www.assafir.com/article.aspx?EditionId=2671&ChannelId=64718&ArticleId=850#.UtT0AZEp4wQ">Al-Safir 11, 13 and 14 January 2014