Story Archive

A Rape of Justice Either Way

A man accused of rape in Qatar, but not convicted of it, has been sentenced to 100 lashes: he claimed the sex was consensual, and that defense was a confession to a different crime under Qatari law: non-marital sex. His accuser, a 22-year-old Dutch vacationer who says she was drugged and woke up in a stranger’s apartment, has been convicted of the same crime and fined. Officials say she must pay her fine, then be deported. A former justice minister said even getting the authorities to charge the man with rape would have required the woman’s lawyers to prove she had not committed any “voluntary actions” with him. Even walking with him could have led officials to treat the case as one of illicit consensual sex rather than rape. (AC/BBC) ...Which shows there is one “voluntary action” no one should commit: going to Qatar.