reply to post by buddhasystem
According to the report of the Special Rapporteur submitted to the 58th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (2002) concerning
cultural practices in the family that reflect violence against women (E/CN.4/2002/83):
The Special Rapporteur indicated that there had been contradictory decisions with regard to the honour defense in Brazil, and that legislative
provisions allowing for partial or complete defense in that context could be found in the penal codes of Argentina, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, Iran,
Israel, Jordan, Peru, Syria, Venezuela and the Palestinian National Authority.[12]
Countries where the law is interpreted to allow men to kill female relatives in a premeditated effort as well as for crimes of passions, in flagrante
delicto in the act of committing adultery, include:
Jordan: Part of article 340 of the Penal Code states that "he who discovers his wife or one of his female relatives committing adultery and kills,
wounds, or injures one of them, is exempted from any penalty."[56] This has twice been put forward for cancellation by the government, but was
retained by the Lower House of the Parliament, in 2003: a year in which at least seven honor killings took place.[57] Article 98 of the Penal Code is
often cited alongside Article 340 in cases of honor killings. “Article 98 stipulates that a reduced sentence is applied to a person who kills
another person in a ‘fit of fury’”[31].
Countries that allow men to kill female relatives in flagrante delicto (but without premeditation) include:
Syria: Article 548 states that "He who catches his wife or one of his ascendants, descendants or sister committing adultery (flagrante delicto) or
illegitimate sexual acts with another and he killed or injured one or both of them benefits from an exemption of penalty."
Countries that allow husbands to kill only their wives in flagrante delicto (based upon the Napoleonic code) include:
Morocco: Revisions to Morocco's criminal code in 2003 helped improve women's legal status by eliminating unequal sentencing in adultery cases.
Article 418 of the penal code granted extenuating circumstances to a husband who murders, injures, or beats his wife and/or her partner, when catching
them in flagrante delicto while committing adultery. While this article has not been repealed, the penalty for committing this crime is at least now
the same for both genders.[citation needed]
In two Latin American countries, similar laws were struck down over the past two decades: according to human rights lawyer Julie Mertus "in Brazil,
until 1991 wife killings were considered to be noncriminal 'honor killings'; in just one year, nearly eight hundred husbands killed their wives.
Similarly, in Colombia, until 1980, a husband legally could kill his wife for committing adultery."[58]
Countries where honor killing is not legal but is known to occur include:
Turkey: In Turkey, persons found guilty of this crime are sentenced to life in prison.[8] There are well documented cases, where Turkish courts have
sentenced whole families to life imprisonment for an honor killing. The most recent was on January 13, 2009, where a Turkish Court sentenced five
members of the same Kurdish family to life imprisonment for the "honour killing" of Naile Erdas, 16, who got pregnant as a result of rape[59].
Pakistan: Honor killings are known as Karo Kari (Sindhi: ڪارو ڪاري) (Urdu: کاروکاری). The practice is supposed to be prosecuted under
ordinary murder, but in practice police and prosecutors often ignore it.[60] Often a man must simply claim the killing was for his honor and he will
go free. Nilofar Bakhtiar, advisor to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, stated that in 2003, as many as 1,261 women were murdered in honor killings.[61] On
December 8, 2004, under international and domestic pressure, Pakistan enacted a law that made honor killings punishable by a prison term of seven
years, or by the death penalty in the most extreme cases.[62] Women's rights organizations were, however, wary of this law as it stops short of
outlawing the practice of allowing killers to buy their freedom by paying compensation to the victim's relatives. Women's rights groups claimed that
in most cases it is the victim's immediate relatives who are the killers, so inherently the new law is just eyewash. It did not alter the provisions
whereby the accused could negotiate pardon with the victim's family under the Islamic provisions. In March 2005 the Pakistani parliament rejected a
bill which sought to strengthen the law against the practice of honor killing.[63] However, the bill was brought up again, and in November 2006, it
passed.[64] It is doubtful whether or not the law would actually help women.[65]
Egypt: A number of studies on honor crimes by The Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law, at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London,
includes one which reports on Egypt's legal system, noting a gender bias in favor of men in general, and notably article 17 of the Penal Code :
judicial discretion to allow reduced punishment in certain circumstance, often used in honor killings case.[66]