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

Yesterday the deadline for the Appellate Public Prosecution to appeal the mitigated sentence against Muhammad Nu7heili, killer of wife Manal Assi: (http://bit.ly/2bbGazg) ended with no success, and the file was reassigned to the Discriminatory Prosecution to pronounce its ruling during a period of one month at the latest. Coinciding with the set deadline, Kafa Enough Violence and Exploitation jointly with the Lebanese Women’s Council (LWC) and a number of concerned activists staged a sit-in in front of the Justice Palace in Beirut to pressure in that direction. During the protest, lawyer and LWC president Iqbal Dughan stressed the need to adjust the current law in such that the appeal in incidents of murder becomes compulsory. Similarly, lawyer Leila Awada said that the absence of a relevant legislation that puts in check perpetrators of domestic violence inspires more atrocious acts on the part of so-called angry husbands. 

For its part, Kafa denounced in a statement the “demise of justice” in the case of Manal, maintaining that the ruling in subject has repeatedly proven the worthless value of the life of a woman in the eyes of many, and that the outdated notion of macho superiority has won again. For her part, Manal’s mother present at the demonstration demanded the maximum penalties against the killer of her daughter, despite her announcement earlier to drop all personal rights against the culprit who has allegedly threatened to kill her. In a move of solidarity with Manal and other victims of domestic violence, the Progressive Socialist Party held a gathering yesterday at its Beirut center which brought together youth, legal and women committees of the following parties: Lebanese Communist Party, Future Movement, National Liberal Party, Al Marada, Al Kataeb, Free Patriotic Movement, Tashnak, Al Azm association and Al Ittihad Party. At the end of the meeting, participants urged the competent Judiciary authorities to issue a firm, quick and rigorous decision criminalizing brutal murderers. (As Safir, Al Akbar, Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, An Nahar, August 17, 2016)