IRFN (November 17-19): Myanmar Imprisons Ethnic and Religious Minorities

Nov 19, 2008

Feature: China and Tibetan leaders are in the middle of talks that began on November 17.  The talks, taking place in India, follow what has been perceived to be an increase in governmental restrictions placed on the Tibetan region.  The New York Times has more.

1.  UK: Grapples With Use of Islamic Law

LONDON – National debate continues over religious diversity and the pre-eminence of British law, particularly now that more British Muslims are turning to informal Islamic law councils to mediate disputes, the International Herald Tribune reported on November 19.  Since the archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, suggested in February 2008 that aspects of Islamic Shariah might be embraced alongside the traditional legal system, the government has been grappling with a public unrest over the issue, assuaging critics while trying to reassure a wary and at times disaffected Muslim population that its traditions have a place in British society. The Church of England has its own ecclesiastical courts and British Jews have their own "beth din" courts. Conservatives and liberals alike have repeatedly denounced the courts as poor substitutes for British jurisprudence.

2.  Algeria: Upholds Punishment for Smoking During Ramadan

ALGIERS - Algeria's highest court, the appeals court, on November 18 upheld convictions for three men caught smoking cigarettes during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan but reduced their prison terms, a defense lawyer and a rights group said, the AP reported on November 18. The defense lawyer reported that the appeals court did reduce the sentences from three years to two months for "offending religion." The men, all construction workers in an upscale Algiers neighborhood, were caught by police smoking cigarettes on a street Sept. 21, and have been detained since. No law in Algeria explicitly bars people from eating, drinking, smoking or otherwise breaking the daytime fast during Islam's holy month. Justice Ministry officials declined to comment on the case and Algerian secularists worry authorities are placating Islamists by increasingly enforcing religious rules.

3.  Myanmar: Courts Imprison Ethnic and Religious Minorities

YANGON - A court in military-ruled Myanmar sentenced three ethnic minority activists and a well-known Buddhist monk to prison on November 18 as part of a continued crackdown on pro-democracy activists, the AP reported on November 18. Chin leader Chin Sian Thang said a court inside Yangon's Insein Prison on Tuesday sentenced his son, Kam Lat Khaot to 33 years in prison and his nephew, Kai Kham Kwal, to eight years, and at the same court hearing member of the Arakan minority was given 33 years. Five United Nations experts issued a statement in Geneva strongly condemning the "severe convictions and the unfair trials of prisoners of conscience in Myanmar." At least 70 activists were sentenced to prison terms last week, and another seven on November 17.

4.  France: Ruling on Virgin Case Reversed

PARIS - A French court of appeal has overruled the decision to annul the marriage of two Muslims because the bride had lied about being a virgin, the BBC reported November 17. The verdict had caused emotional debate and outrage among some feminists, who said it amounted to a "fatwa" against women's liberty, however the husband's lawyers said the case had nothing to do with religion. Under the French civil code, a marriage can be annulled if a spouse has lied about an "essential quality" of the relationship. Critics have also asked if the judge would have ruled the same way if the marriage was not between two Muslims, and claimed the decision was incompatible with France's secular principles. 
Justice Minister Rachida Dati ordered a review of the verdict due to the heated debate over the ruling.