4 Montrealers Arrested for Rape in Cuba

I read in a little newspaper snippet on the subway this morning that four Montrealers had been arrested and are currently being detained in La Condesa prison in Cuba for the alleged rape of a 23 year old Toronto woman. The only English language article I found was HERE.

In the French language articles, it is probably worth mentioning, they mention that the 4 men say that after partying with this girl in Varadero she consented to go back to their room and have sexual relations with all of them. They then proceeded to send compromising photos to the woman's father in Mississauga. An attorney representing 3 of the 4 men claims that the woman is claiming she was raped in order to save face in front of her Muslim family.

I think that either way, rape charges should be taken seriously and that if these men really did rape her that the time they spend in Cuban jail while the investigation (which may take up to a year to complete) is underway will be a good way to start the whole punishment process. If they didn't however rape this woman, well, I really have no comment to add.

I've often wondered what jails would be like in Cuba for foreigners as compared to how Cuban prisoners are treated. I guess that these four are finding out first hand.

The Rape Law is back in the news...

After being in the headlines for a week or so in April the international outrage at Afghanistan's "Rape Law" sort of died down. Back then I had written quite a few posts about it, so let's go over the basics of it for those who don't remember:

1- The law states that: "women must obey their husband’s sexual demands and that a man can expect to have sex with his wife at least ‘once every four nights’ when traveling, unless they are ill." It also prohibits women from going to the doctor or leaving their home without their husband's protection.


2- "Article 132 legalizes the rape of a wife by her husband." (Unifem, the United Nations)

I could list a million quotes on this, or recount the reactions of many of the world's politician but the truth is that on April 7th when Hamid Karzai stated that he would revisit the law, but that the process would take 2 to 3 months.... (It's been almost three months now and there's an election coming up in Afghanistan in August)... the world's politicians were more than happy to see this issue disappear from the news. I can't believe that we didn't stay on top of this and that nothing new has come out of it.

Today in the Globe and Mail there's an article stating that Canada was warned in advance of this law, but that apparently our diplomats in Afghanistan didn't think that it was important enough to inform the parliament which still claims that it didn't know anything.

So there was a hearing and when asked one of our senior Canadian bureaucrats in Afghanistan said: “The law was not a focus of Afghan national political debate. We are unaware of any domestic media coverage in Afghanistan during this legislative process.” (Yves Brodeur)

If that were true then why did women who opposed the law and spoke out assassinated in the street?

And why did Soraya Sobharang, a prominent member of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission say: "Western countries let down the women of her country"? (Canada is the country who is basically paying for Afghanistan's Human Rights Commission.)

In the end I'm glad the Globe and Mail had an article about this yesterday for a few reasons: it keeps our government on its toes knowing that someone is watching... But mostly because this is something that I want to be able to follow until the August election, this law was wrong in April, it is still wrong today, the International Community needs to pressure these governments to treat their citizens in an fair and equal manner. This isn't about public relations and photo opportunities, this is about the life of women for generations to come in a country that our friends and neighbors died (and are still dying) to protect.

Muchacho Enfermo

Our Justice System is Guilty of Failing

Not a day goes by that I don’t open my local paper and read about some crazy person that assaults small children or a crazy murderer or a homeless person getting run over by a truck driver. Not a day goes by that I don’t hear the lenient judgments handed down by Canadian and Quebec Courts to child molesters and murderers...

Let me out this in perspective for you: A pediatrician in Quebec is now being paroled to a halfway house after serving the mandatory 2/3 of his 3 year sentence, he was convicted of what? Drugging and assaulting young boys that went to see him. I’m not exactly sure how many boys he was found guilty of having abused, but even if he assaulted only one, that’s one too many. The parole board and his prison councilors all agree that he probably assaulted more boys than we can ever know and that he shouldn’t be released, but it’s the law... there’s nothing we can do about it.

Or the Case of the Snowdon Attacker, this man lost it one day in the Snowdon Metro Station and attacked a 42 year old woman, putting her in a coma for months and disfiguring her, before attacking two other people and sexually assaulting a woman. He was sentenced to serve his 2 year sentence in the community. The very same community he terrorized.

There are a few things wrong with both of these stories:
1- In the case of the child molesting pediatrician... that whole thing is just wrong. Especially his sentence and his mandatory release. Serving 2 years for assaulting numerous little boys? That somehow doesn’t seem even a little bit like justice to me.
2- In the case of the Snowdon Attacker... 2 years to be served in the community? What the heck is that? Is that consolation for the woman he put in the coma and the other woman he sexually assaulted?

It seems to me that my provincial government, instead of worrying about which language I speak in the privacy of my own home, should be focusing on trying to amend the criminal code to help bring ACTUAL justice to the victims of these crimes.

As Canadians we always say we are champions of Human Rights and Civil Rights, we are great at criticizing other nations for their lacks in that department, we are great at saying that certain countries are to harsh in their prison sentences. We are also great at closing our eyes and pretending everything is fine with our justice system.

Muchacho Enfermo

Holy crap... Man in the US sold his daughter for 16k

That's right folks... A man from California sold his 14 year old daughter into marriage for a grand total of $16,000 and an undisclosed amount of beer and meat. The only reason the authorities found out was because the father went to the police when payment wasn't made.

Can you believe this crap? I know I can't, not even a little bit. I'd sell, maybe, some hockey cards for meat if I was really hard up, but my own offspring? This dude is nuts... thankfully he now faces a year in jail and then deportation.

I must say that whenever I hear stories like this it makes me want to to jump on a plane and being back the good old vigilante justice that I'm so fond of... If he was in Canada he'd get a slap on the wrist, but since he's in the US this backwards @ss father will face a much harsher sentence.

The moral of this story folks? There just isn't one. Something is just really REALLY wrong with the world when fathers sell their daughters.

Muchacho Enfermo

Afghanistan to Review Marital Rape Law

After the world cried out, after countless newspapers, blogs and politicians took to their chosen method of communication and spoke out against this atrocious little law; the Afghan justice minister, Sarwesh Danesh, said that Hamid Karzai had ordered a review of the law which would take two to three months.In the meantime women's rights will remain unchanged.

Canadian diplomat in Kabul, Ben Roswell, said: "We don't know what the outcome of the review is going to be. We do know that the government of Afghanistan is very serious about revisiting the law and anxious to use this review process in order to address concerns." I think the word "concern" is an understatement, we're talking downright objections here.

Afghan female MP Sabrina Saqeb said that she is concerned that Karzai is just trying to buy time because there is an election in August.

I've spoken about this crazy law at length in previous posts, but the one thing I did not address... While the government of Afghanistan was wrong to pass a law like this one, what about the people who would vote for someone BECAUSE of this law. Everyone, from newspapers to Afghan MPs have said that this law served only to garner votes from fundamentalists who would otherwise not vote for Karzai. What does that say about the people of Afghanistan?

Granted a majority of Afghan voters would probably not vote in favor of this law, but what about the minority of people who would? Every country has its radicals, from survivalists in the US to the IRA in Ireland to (a lesser extent) The Bloc Québécois and the PQ here at home. Governments have been known to pass laws to appeal to these radical minorities, take for example Stephen Harper's move to declare Québec a nation, the only purpose of this was to quiet down the separatist rumblings from PQ extremists and to garner support for his party in upcoming elections.

The main difference between this and the Afghan law is that declaring Québec a nation did not legalize the virtual imprisonment and rape of women. That's a huge difference. Québec being declared a nation did not take away the fundamental human rights of anyone. Québec being declared a nation (while it pissed me off) didn't shock the entire world and human rights groups across the globe.

Afghanistan is now a global center of attention. We wanted to bring democracy there and we did. Now let's see if this review process actually works. Let's see what Karzai values more: human rights and the protection of his people OR the power of his office.

Source for quotes the Globe and Mail

Muchacho Enfermo

Afghanistan... why haven't we left yet.

The Afghan ambassador to Canada was appealing to Canadians to not react too sharply to Article 132 and to keep supporting the mission in Afghanistan. He stated that his government had made great strides in women’s rights and the protection of women over the last 8 years. He also stated that the NATO mission was meant to help in restoring democracy and that it’s clear that they now have a democratic process. I must also, to be fair, add that the Afghan minister of justice has agreed to meet with foreign policy makers and amendments may be brought forth in Article 132.

I’ve spoken to many people about this whole thing over the last few days and the opinions vary from: “screw that let’s just leave” to “Oust Karzai and let the UN run the country” to “this is a great step in the right direction for democracy.”

Over the years I’ve had some friends and family serve in Afghanistan, I currently have some there, they’ve always supported the mission, and they’ve always thought they were there to stop things exactly like Article 132. They’ve fought hard and lost friends for this belief, even with so much of the country not supporting them back home. They went to bed at night proud that they were making an actual difference.

Now it’s not exactly clear what kind of difference they’ve made... It seems that they’ve helped a country rid itself of cruel leaders that regarded women as nothing less than sex toys and baby machines, only to replace it with someone who does the same thing except that he does it behind our backs smiling the whole way.

If it wasn’t for Canada and the NATO mission Karzai would have never won an election and if he did, if it wasn’t for NATO guarding his city he’d have been assassinated long ago. I think that our actions in Afghanistan entitle us to some kind of forewarning if a bill that is so radically against our values is being tabled.

Let me be clear, for those who say Canada or NATO has no right to intervene with governmental affairs of a sovereign nation... The Allies intervened in WWII to stop Germany from taking over the Europe and to stop the killing of Jews. We intervened in Kosovo to stop the ethnic cleansing. We tried to intervene in Rwanda but the world would not listen. Western intervention should not always mean the implementation of western values, such as democracy and a freewheeling economy, but it should mean the implementation of certain values that should be shared by every nation on earth: basic human rights and civil liberties for everyone, period. I think Canada has every right to tell Karzai to change this law now or we leave Afghanistan today.

Muchacho Enfermo

Pack it up, we leave Afghanistan today!

It was reported yesterday, from news sources all over the world that Afghan President Hamid Karzai is rumored to have signed a law that would not only diminish women's rights in Afghanistan, it would outright throw them out the window. This new law (Article 132) states that "women must obey their husband’s sexual demands and that a man can expect to have sex with his wife at least ‘once every four nights’ when traveling, unless they are ill." It also prohibits women from going to the doctor or leaving their home without their husband's protection.It is also rumored to grant custody of children only to fathers or grandfathers.

Shinkai Karokhail (a female Afghan MP): "It is one of the worst bills passed by the parliament this century."

Senator Humaira Namati (Afghanistan): "Worse than during the Taliban". "Anyone who spoke out was accused of being against Islam."

Hilary Clinton: "This is an area of absolute concern for the United States.My message is very clear. Women's rights are a central part of the foreign policy of the Obama administration."

Stockwell Day: "The onus is upon the government of Afghanistan to live up to its human-rights responsibilities, absolutely including the rights of women. If there is any wavering on this point … this will create serious difficulties, serious problems for the government of Canada."

Unifem (U.N): "Article 132 legalizes the rape of a wife by her husband."

The current Afghan administration actually had the balls to claim that this law protected women, who according to them, are weaker than men. Hamid Karzai declined to comment. It is widely speculated that signing this law is a move to garner votes from Afghan fundamentalists for the upcoming August elections.

If this law proves to be an actual law I firmly believe that Canada should lead the way in leaving Afghanistan. I would love to say that we should stay until our 2011 deadline and try to sway the Afghan government, but it's clear that NATO's influence in this country has not done very much good if the Afghan parliament still passes such backwards legislation as this one. How can one put his political career before the rights of millions of citizens?

We (Canada) should not be defending a government that does not do its best to protect its citizens. We should not support an administration that violates the rights of women. We should make our discontent and anger known. Canada, as a country known for its peacekeeping and for being a champion for Human Rights, should not be associated in any way in propping up this government that has clearly failed to live up to our, and the world's, expectations.

I don't want to see anymore Canadian men and women brought back home in coffins for a country that legalizes rape and violates Human Rights. Afghanistan, consider this your ultimatum.

sources for quotes:
Globe and Mail
Daily Mail
Guardian

Muchacho Enfermo

"Humane" sentence for Child Molester

I know I should be posting about the federal budget, or Obama, or something relating to politics... But politics seem so trivial and unimportant in relation to the abuse of children and the way our courts abandon the victims.

It apparently seems that preposterous sentences for child molesters is on the rise in this country because today my local paper The Gazette reported the story of 93 year old Philippe Hamelin who was found guilty of abusing his "two daughters, Marcelle and Michèle, both physically and sexually in "the most serious way a father could abuse his children" from the time they were 5 until they were teenagers."

Because of his age and health condition he was sentenced to just over two years to be served in a nursing home. Throughout the trial the child molester showed no remorse according to the judge. The only time he admitted to anything was when he said something along the lines of if he was guilty of anything it was fathering his two daughters.

I think that this again just goes to show that we have some serious issues with the courts in this country. Were he younger he'd have been sentenced to 7 years, which I still find way too lenient, for having abused his two daughters "in the most serious way a father could abuse his children".

The moral if this story? If you were abused, touched or assaulted don't wait before reporting it. Report it now. Here's some resources to help you out:

PDF document with a list of phone numbers and address in Montreal.

Muchacho Enfermo

5 years in prison for sex with 10 year old

An ex-Montreal pastor named Daniel Cormier was sentenced to 5 years in prison for having molested and abused a 10 year old girl. His only defence was that he was married to her... The pair were married in his small and obscure little basement church with the parent's consent. Cormier is also on trial in another case involving a minor.

I forgot to mention he also ran for mayor of Montreal here's his electoral platform and a picture... click here please!


As is the case with ALL sentences that get handed through the criminal justice system in the province, this one is much too light. He's really getting 49 months+time served for having raped a ten year old. And you know he's not going to be in the prison's general population where he should be, no of course not, the courts are too worried of what other inmates might to him so at the expense of the tax payer he gets special care. My tax dollars, your tax dollars, the victim's (who is now 19 and works) tax dollars; will pay to protect this pedophile from the big bad inmates. Screw that.

Someone in this country really needs to step up and say enough of this crap... Sex crimes of any kind, crimes against children... we've had enough. Someone needs to petition parliament to say listen: WTF is up with this justice system? the dude who raped my 10 year old daughter got 5 years (maximum) that's not justice, that's a slap in the victim's face. And really people, that's exactly what 5 years is: 5 years is what the crown thinks her being robbed of her childhood is worth.

This makes me sick.

Muchacho Enfermo

9 year old raped, court rules no punishment for attackers

This is an old story, this dates back to early October before I started this blog. It was brought back to my attention this morning when I received an email from a friend asking me to sign a petition that called for stronger penalties for youths who commit violent crimes.

Before I tell if I signed or not... how about I tell you all the story (here it is in French as originally reported in La Presse de Montreal)in English:

In the suburbs just north of Montreal in a quiet upper middle class neighborhood, a little boy (we'll call him Eric, who is 11, invited Lea who is 9 to lunch at his house not far from their school. Another (we'll call him Louis)9 year old boy followed them to Eric's house. Eric's parents weren't home. Eric asked Lea to strip. When she said no he hit her with a chain. After she had stripped Eric instructed to younger boy to touch her with his hands, to insert them in parts of her body and how to do it. As if this wasn't enough Eric chained her feet together and inserted a vibrator in her anus, scarring the girl physically by the force of the thrust.
The youth courts (which are supposed to protect all youths) here in Quebec have ruled that since the boys weren't even 12 yet they couldn't be tried as minors and would face no consequence. Even though both children admit their actions and the older of the two boys even brags openly about having raped the girl.

As much as I hate to say this... I think both these boys should be tried as at least juveniles. I also think that Eric's parents should be up on trial for raising such a messed up child and for not limiting his access to sex toys... I mean seriously...
What kind of abuse must that poor boy have suffered or witnessed to want to inflict that kind of pain on someone else? Some will say you can't blame the parents but I don't really care what you say: I'm blaming them. Some will say you can't blame the kid he's only 12... but really? he lured a girl into his house, tied her up and abused her, it's clear to me that if he was ready with a vibrator and chains that he knew what he was doing. He knew he'd have to tie her up because she wouldn't like whatever he was going to do and he already had a plan!!! The only thing this 12 year old was ignorant about was the consequences of his actions. But surprise surprise our justice system strikes again and there are NO consequences whatsoever! Welcome to Quebec.

Muchacho Enfermo

14 year old girl gets razor blade abortion...

An Afghan girl finds herself in critical care at a US army hospital in Afghanistan today after her mother and brother cut her abdomen open with a razor blade, removed the 5 month old fetus the girl had inside her and sewed her up with needle and thread. The only reason she ever made it to the hospital is that her father was worried once the wound became seriously infected. He told doctors it was a dog bite.

The story was reported by Jane Armstrong in the Globe and Mail and appears in today's G & M...

The 14 year old's pregnancy was the result of a rape. Victims often keep quiet about rape in Afghanistan because in many cases the victim is shamed by friends and family and the police will claim that she consented to sex or lured the man into sleeping with her.

Abortion is illegal in Afghanistan unless the mother's health is seriously at risk. Even then, abortion must be debated by a panel of doctors.

So just so we're clear: this 14 year old victim of rape, would be stuck with a baby she didn't want, shamed by her family, would never find a husband. Since abortion is illegal her mother butchered her with a razor to get the fetus out and possibly killed her own daughter in the process.

Every country of the world should have provisions to protect victims of rape, especially ones so young. To help them should they want help. To be there for them should they need someone there. It seems to me that caring for our young people should be a priority no matter where you are in the world.

Muchacho Enfermo