Two Years Of Jail For Turkish Professor Who Banned Hijabi From Campus

A 64-year-old former astrophysics professor at Ege University in Turkey will spend the next two years in jail for allegedly banning a hijab-clad student from coming on campus several years ago. Rennan Pekunlu could spend 12 years if charged on two other counts of doing the same thing.

Pekunlu began his sentence in a prison in the western city of Izmir, becoming the first individual in Turkey to be jailed for such an offence, his lawyer Murat Fatih Ulku told AFP.

Before heading to prison, the 64-year-old professor gave a public lecture on the “universe and evolution” to an audience including his former students, colleagues as well as members of several labour unions.

“This is not our last lecture. We have a lot more to do. This is not the end,” Pekunlu said before bursting into tears, as gasps and sobbing erupted inside the packed hall.

“Professor Rennan is not alone,” the crowd chanted, according to the website of Hurriyet newspaper.

“AKP dictatorship is doomed to collapse,” they shouted, referring to the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party.

Pekunlu denies the charges, saying he did not prevent any student from entering the university or attending his classes, insisting that he would just “report them to university authorities”, to which he is entitled under Turkish laws.

“I would have done the same in similar circumstances. I have done my duty,” he told CNN-Turk television by phone.

His lawyer said they took the decision to the European Court of Human Rights. “It’s an unfortunate decision in a secular, constitutional state,” Ulku said.

Way to go, Turkey.

More here.

Man Who Beat Son To Death Over Grades Has 1 Year Jail Sentence Rejected By UAE Court

An Emirati man beat his 12-year-old son so severely with a cane and an electrical chord the child died. Apparently, papa was unhappy with the boy's school grades. The mother found the bloody, unconscious boy and drove him to the hospital, but the child was dead on arrival.

Under sharia law this is how the judicial process went down for the accused:

Parents can't be sentenced to death under sharia, so that was ruled out. Of course, the death sentence is perfectly fine for adulterers, blasphemers, apostates and homosexuals. But beating someone to death? 15 years max. However, this dad lucked out. The 'beating' charge  was changed to premeditated murder.

Now this is where it gets interesting. There's that 'blood money' clause under sharia law, whereby relatives can receive money and a reduced sentence as retribution.

As the boy’s heirs, the father’s parents, waived their rights to a death sentence, R M was sentenced to three years in jail and a blood money settlement of Dh200,000.

His sentence was later reduced by the appeals court to one year, as the boy’s mother also waived her right to blood money.

On Wednesday, the court of cassation ruled that the heirs should not have been consulted in this case.

The law states that a father cannot be charged with premeditated murder unless he confesses, which R M did not, or if it was a straightforward murder act.

In this case, as the tools he used to kill his son were not weapons, it proved it was an attack driven by anger and not planned.

[snip]

Also, the medical report showed there was not a fatal blow from the father, as the boy died from shock caused by the pain of the beating.

So that pre-meditated murder charge? Thrown out, along with the year sentence. So another hearing will be scheduled.

Gotta love sharia.

The full story here.

Moroccans Protest Pardon of Spanish Pedophile

A sixty-something Spanish pedophile, Daniel Galvin Vina, who raped 11 children (from 4 to 15) was pardoned and released by King Mohammed VI.  No wonder Moroccans are hitting the streets in protest.

The King claims ignorance, but is investigating how this could have happened. How can  you not know who you are pardoning and releasing back into the world. These countries will pardon serial pedophiles and keep bloggers who insult their leaders jailed.

Apparently, pedophiles seem to be gravitating to Morocco.

The story here.