Amnesty: Don’t cane lesbian duo

Delay not adequate given the injustice of the sentencing, says rights group

PETALING JAYA: A human rights group wants the caning of two lesbians for having sex in Terengganu dropped altogether and not just delayed.

Amnesty International Malaysia interim executive director Gwen Lee said a delay was not adequate given the injustice of the sentencing.

“A delay is not enough. Both women must have their sentences quashed immediately and unconditionally to reverse this injustice once and for all,” said Lee in a statement yesterday.

It was reported that the Kuala Terengganu Syariah High Court has postponed the caning of the two women to a later date.

The women, aged 22 and 23, who were supposed to be caned six times on Tuesday, will instead receive their punishment on Monday.

Lee said that the sentence on the women has received condemnation globally and that the government should take a stand against the use of caning as a punishment should it want to be seen as serious in honouring inter- national treaties on human rights.

“If Malaysia is serious about increasing its ratification of international treaties, as it has stated, it must end the use of caning and repeal the laws that impose these torturous punishments completely,” she added.

The Malaysian Bar also expressed its objection to the sentencing of the two women.

Its president George Varughese said that the Bar opposes all forms of corporal punishment, including caning, adding that the sentence on the two women was “a serious cause for concern”.

“It is a harsh and barbaric form of punishment that causes harmful and long-lasting psychological effects, and has no place in a modern and compassionate society such as ours.

“Under international human rights law, corporal punishment constitutes a form of torture (as) there is empirical evidence to show that it has failed as a retributory and deterrent sentence.

“Punishment of this nature must be abolished,” said Varughese in a statement.