Public Prosecutor appeals decision of mitigated sentence to killer of wife Manal Assi

Finally, the Discriminatory Public Prosecution appealed the “unjust” decision reducing the prison term for the killer of wife Manal Assi after slackness on the part of the Appellate which gave the culprit a mitigated sentence. In the details, the discriminatory public prosecutor Judge Samir Hammud made a request yesterday before the Court of Cassation to veto an earlier ruling by the Beirut Criminal Court which he spelled out as “a mistake in explaining and implementing Article 549 of the Penal Code which allows the mitigation of punishment.” Hence, Hammud  demanded a re-trial for the defendant and upholding the decision to criminalize him with maximum punishment.  However, the State Prosecutor, according to As Safir newspaper, said the case has not closed yet pending the decision of the Supreme Court (Cassation). He stated that he has specifically noticed the torture that the killer practiced on his victim for 7 long hours, a fact disregarded by the Criminal Court when pronouncing the reduced sentence. Commenting on Judge Hammud’s appeal, lawyer Manar Zeiater , said it is significant for it acknowledges the legal error substantiated by the mitigated sentence, noting that this would be a guarantee not to use Article 252 as a pretext justifying the honor killings any further. Zeiater considered the move as exceptional attributing it to many factors, including the relentless pressure exerted by feminist groups. “Hammud does not want to endorse macho doctrines,” she maintained. Likewise, the information officer at Kafa Enough Violence and Exploitation Maya Ammar hailed the ‘unprecedented’ action by the state prosecutor, arguing that the “inexcusable legal loophole validated by the Criminal Court decision justifies its repeal.” (An Nahar, As Safir, Al Akhbar, August 23, 2016)

 

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Justice fails Manal Assi while last hope resides in the Discriminatory Prosecution