How stupid can these ppl be?
Unmarried couples caned in Indonesia’s Aceh
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Men and women, aged between 18 and 23, hit several times for being together alone in violation of province’s strict law.
Three couples have been publicly caned in Indonesia’s Aceh after the unmarried university students were caught spending time alone together in violation of the province’s strict interpretation of Sharia.
A rowdy crowd of about 1,000 spectators shouted as the three men and three women, aged between 18 and 23, were lashed on Friday several times each with a rattan cane in a square in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh.
A fourth woman, aged in her 40s, was also publicly caned for committing adultery. One of the women fainted after being caned four times and had to be carried off by officials.
“Hopefully those who are being caned will realise their mistakes and feel remorseful and repent to God so that they can become noble humans again,” Ridwan, an official from the local sharia law office who goes by one name, said before the caning.
RELATED: The heavy hand of religious police in Aceh
Public caning is a common punishment in Aceh, which is the only province in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country that is allowed to implement Islamic sharia, but it is rare for women to be caned.
Gay sex, gambling and drinking alcohol are already punishable by caning in Aceh which began implementing sharia after being granted special autonomy in 2001, an effort by the central government in Jakarta to quell a long-running separatist rebellion.
A flurry of strict Islamic Sharia have been introduced in Aceh in recent years, drawing howls of protest from rights groups.
Just this week, Banda Aceh banned women from entertainment venues after 11pm unless they are accompanied by a husband or male family member and last month an Aceh district banned unmarried men and women from riding together on motorbikes.
More than 90 percent of Indonesians describe themselves as Muslim.
Calls for lifting of female curfew in Indonesia’s Aceh
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Many working women hope Jakarta will reverse night-time restrictions and give them back their freedom of movement.
Activists in Indonesia are voicing their opposition to a partial curfew imposed on women earlier this month in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province.
The provincial government says the new rule, which mandates that females working or visiting nightspots must return home by 11pm, is meant to protect women from sexual harassment and prevent them from being overworked.
But opponents of the regulation say the curfew not only takes away the basic freedom of movement but represses women who have to work night shifts to support their families.
Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen, reporting from Banda Aceh, said only a few women have dared to protest openly against the curfew rule, mainly because it was issued in the name of religion in a province that has a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Samsidar, a woman activist in Aceh, told Al Jazeera the law is “clearly discriminatory” against women and contradicts the country’s constitution.
Conflicting opinions
Iliza Saaduddin Djamal, mayor of Banda Aceh, defends the new rule, saying: “After 11 pm, places of entertainment are quite dangerous. There are many problems. … If women work later than 11pm, it is not effective. By that time women should be able to rest.”
However, Indonesian government ministers in Jakarta say they want to review the regulations in Aceh to see whether they breach the national constitution.
“Many women are affected by [the curfew law] because they work at night,” Yohana Yembise, minister of women empowerment, told Al Jazeera.
“We need to review this and I will discuss this with our home minister because this is not the only regulation in Aceh violating gender equality.”
In Banda Aceh these days, women are reprimanded for being outdoors after 9pm unaccompanied by their husbands or family members. Unmarried couples are arrested for kissing in the city’s parks.
Violators can be punished by caning in public, like three unmarried couples who were recently caught.
While not all women are obeying the mayor’s regulations, most cafes in the city are now filled with men only.
Many women are hoping that the government in Jakarta will reverse the rule and allow them to work and move around at night as they used to do.
Tudung vs miniskirts: Fashion or jihad?
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A road billboard in Kelantan shows a Muslim woman in a tudung and baju kurung with the words: “Menjaga aurat adalah perintah Allah SWT” [Covering your ‘aurat’ is God’s commandment]. — Facebook pic
KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 — A billboard in Kelantan shows a Muslim woman in a tudung and baju kurung with the words: “Menjaga aurat adalah perintah Allah SWT” [Covering your ‘aurat’ is God’s commandment].
The image of the signboard, which was shared by the Ipoh branch of Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) on its Facebook page, illustrates how women’s bodies in Malaysia have become a battleground between the conservatives and the liberals, just like the opposing campaigns in the Arab world on the headscarf and the miniskirt.
UK news site BBC News reported recently that a campaign in Algeria has men determining what their female family members wear and arguing that the tudung, or the hijab as it’s called in Arab, protects women from unwanted attention.
The “Be a man” Facebook campaign, however, reportedly sparked a reaction from secular activists in neighbouring Tunisia, as they started an “international day of the miniskirt” campaign on the social networking site saying: “We must fight the pro-Islamists taking over”.
Although none here have embarked on such campaigns, the topic of how Muslim women dress themselves in Malaysia is a subject of much debate.
The latest controversy was sparked by social media criticism over the gymnastic leotard of SEA Games gold medallist Farah Ann Abdul Hadi, which allegedly showed off the 21-year-old Muslim athlete’s “aurat” and the “shape of her vagina”.
Conservative Muslim figures say women should cover themselves from head to toe, while liberal Muslims say hemlines don’t determine piety.
According to the beliefs of local politician Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, a Malay leader in secular party DAP, Muslim women should be allowed to wear whatever they want, from knee-length skirts to even miniskirts.
“Letting men decide what women should wear is highly degrading. Women can decide for themselves what is good and what is bad,” said the young Dyana Sofya, who does not wear the headscarf.
Abdul Hakim Othman, spokesman of ultra-conservative Islamist group Hizbut Tahrir Malaysia (HTM) disagreed with the view, however, and said it is “haram” (forbidden) for Muslim women to wear miniskirts or anything similar in public.
“Muslim women must wear ‘khimar’ (cover from head to chest) and ‘jilbab’ (cover from neck to foot as one dress).
“This is the ‘hukum’ (divine rule) as stated in al-Quran,” Abdul Hakim told Malay Mail Online, citing Surah Al-Ahzab verse 59 and Surah An-Nur verse 31.
Like Abdul Hakim, Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria similarly said Muslim women must cover their entire bodies except for their face and hands.
“If she wears a tudung, people will respect her. It means she’s religious,” the Muslim cleric told Malay Mail Online.
“Miniskirts are not allowed [in Islam]; women can wear trousers, but they can’t be too tight,” he added.
Malay Mail Online reported last month that tudung brands are flourishing in Malaysia on the back of an increasingly conservative brand of Islam practised in the country.
Hijabsters, or hipsters who don the hijab, however have turned the headscarf into a fashion item.
Housewife Siti Noraini Mohd Kamarulzaman, who buys four to five headscarves every week, said it is compulsory in Islam to cover her “aurat” from head to toe, but noted that the hijab can be fashionable too.
“Fashion is very important to me. To me, wearing the hijab can also prevent rape and the like because it can prevent male desire from the ends of my hair to the soles of my feet,” the 24-year-old woman told Malay Mail Online.
Islamic Renaissance Front chairman Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa, however, said women’s dressing should not be blamed for sexual assault.
“I believe a woman has the right to choice of clothing, but this choice will have to be tempered with prevailing religious sensitivities because that’s where you live,” Ahmad Farouk told Malay Mail Online.
“I don’t think clothing reflects a person’s religious character,” he added.
Sisters in Islam communications officer Aliah Ali said women’s right to decide what to wear should be respected.
“Surah al-Baqarah (2:256) states that there shall be no compulsion in religion and this even applies to coercing, either both covering or removing covering,” Aliah told Malay Mail Online.
“The Quran, in Surah Al-A’raf (7:26) which reads, ‘We have revealed unto you raiment to conceal your shame, and splendid vesture, but the raiment of righteousness, that is the best’, shows to us that the best garment is one of righteousness.
A piece of clothing is not the ultimate reflection of piety,” the Muslim women’s rights activist added.
In Malaysia, however, what Muslim women wear has come to symbolise their religiosity – or the lack of it – according to conservatives who seek to impose their beliefs and dictate other people’s appearances.
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Imagine LTA say their customers can’t serve you if you wear shorts and singlets….
Even men in sleeveless shirts will be denied service, RTD clarifies after woman made to wear sarong -
KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 — After a middle-aged, conservative-looking woman was denied service at a Road Transport Department (RTD) office for wearing a skirt deemed too revealing, the government department has published a dress code that prohibits even men from wearing sleeveless shirts.
The dress code was published on RTD’s Facebook page and Twitter account @JPJ_Malaysia after an uproar yesterday and a debate on all sides that seems to suggest that Malaysians remain divided along religious lines amid an increasingly conservative brand of Islam practised in the country.
The dress code published on RTD’s Facebook page.
The dress code published on RTD’s Facebook page.
Observers say that the incident of the RTD officers purportedly making the ethnic Chinese woman wear a full-length sarong in order to get service, who said she was at the RTD office for a vehicle ownership transfer, indicates creeping Islamisation in government departments whose workers are predominantly Malay-Muslim.
“Visitors must dress neatly, cleanly and in accordance with Malaysian practice,” the RTD dress code read.
“Practise decent dressing (T-shirts, collared T-shirts, shoes, long trousers, long skirts below the knee), especially during official business at offices at complexes.
“Visitors are prohibited from wearing indecent clothes or clothes that expose the flesh, such as the following: skirt lengths above the knee or shorts, sleeveless shirts, tight shorts or skirts and slippers,” it added.
RTD did not mention its reasons for the dress code.
A public relations officer with the department told The Star that the incident is currently being investigated.
“We are investigating when and where the incident happened. If we know where it happened, we want a report from that office," the officer was quoted saying in a report by the daily today.
Both Muslim women and men are prohibited in Islam from exposing their “aurat” (certain parts of the body).
The woman who had complained about the dress code on Facebook claimed that RTD officers told her they would not entertain her unless she wore the sarong.
Government departments and agencies regularly enforce dress codes and will refuse service or even entry to those who do not comply.
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http://www.themalaymailonline.com/ma....BU3kKI5l.dpuf
After gymnast furore, Islamist group moots Jakim guidelines for sports
KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 — The federal Islamic authorities should come out with a guideline for sports so Muslim women can stay Shariah-compliant, the female wing of National Muslim Youth Association (Pembina) said today.
Amid attacks against SEA Games gold medallist Farah Ann Abdul Hadi’s gymnastic attire, the student arm of Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) said Muslim women should stay away for activities or careers which are not Shariah-compliant.
“If Jakim had recently been able to provide a guideline for concerts in Malaysia, I am optimistic Jakim will be able to provide a guideline for sports next,” Pembina female wing chief Roszida Kamaruddin said on its website, using the acronym of the Malaysian Islamic Development Department.
Jakim recently introduced updated guidelines to entertainment which, among others, urges gender segregation among the audience, and prohibits humour that will provoke “excessive laughter”.
According to Jakim, the new list is meant to assist the authorities in ensuring that entertainment programmes are based on the Islamic faith and codes, and moral values.
Roszida accused many sports of trying to discard an athlete’s shame using nearly-naked attires, claiming that “gymnastics” originated from a Greek word which means “to exercise naked”.
“Gymnastics” comes from the Greek word “gymnastikos”, meaning “skilled in bodily exercise”. This, in turn, originated from the archaic Greek word “gymnos” which means “naked”, as athletes in ancient Greek competed without clothes.
“Women should not be stopped from sports, but they must priorities the Islamic codes in sports attire. Furthermore, there are many Muslim female athletes who succeed even by covering their aurat,” said Roszida, referring to the “intimate body parts” that Muslims must cover with clothing.
On Friday, Malay Mail Online reported of Muslims who attacked Farah for showing her “aurat” and the “shape of her vagina” in a leotard despite winning a gold medal at the SEA Games.
Several Facebook users slammed the 21-year-old Malay woman on Buletin TV3’s Facebook page that had uploaded Wednesday a photograph of her in the gymnastics outfit, along with a caption that announced her winning gold in floor exercise in artistic gymnastics.
Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had since defended Farah Ann, telling detractors that they have no right to judge her attire.
The double gold medallist had also fired back at her critics on Twitter: “Empty cans make the most noise.”
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After ulama rout in PAS, Mat Sabu says IS thinking creeping into Malaysia
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http://www.themalaymailonline.com/ma....1HUJCzUI.dpuf
KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — After a complete wipeout of the progressives by the clergy class in PAS’s elections two weeks ago, its deposed deputy president Mohamad Sabu, or popularly known as Mat Sabu, declared that Malaysia is now facing an ideological threat similar to that propounded by the terrorist group Islamic State (IS).
Speaking at a ceramah event here last night, Mat Sabu said the signs of rising Islamism have become more apparent today and this dangerous trend was reflected in the campaigns throughout the PAS election where any views that differed from those of the clergy class (ulama) were immediately labelled as un-Islamic.
“If we do not stop this then we shall see the arrival of the IS (ideology) into our country. We can already see this dangerous line of thinking in how they are labeling people,” Mat Sabu told the ceramah.
“Those with differing views are deemed as liberals, munafik (pretenders), jebon (derogatory term to describe traitors) and if we fail to contain this (line of thinking) then we will become like the middle east - which has been devastated by sectarian wars.”
Mat Sabu predicted should Malaysia become engulfed in sectarian violence, it would take decades for the country to recover much similar to the war-torn Arab nations.
Without naming anyone or even using the term “ulama”, which was the obvious subject of his vitriols, Mat Sabu said the Muslim world is now plagued by a “piety crisis” where those who profess divine sanction display their Islam-ness only in the rituals, but not morally.
“Now we have those who rather support Muslims despite them being evil and corrupt just because they are Muslims and promised the heavens.
“And these very same people would rather not co-operate with the non-Muslims even though they do so much good, just because they are not Muslims and are not promised the heavens.”
The assertion was apparently aimed at PAS president and leader of the clergy class Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang who appears to have signalled his keenness on co-operating with archrivals Umno instead of its own allies the DAP.
Hadi had in the past repeatedly stated his willingness to work with Umno for the sake of Malay-Muslim unity.
Continuing his attacks on Hadi, Mat Sabu said PAS’s closeness with Umno was a betrayal of those who voted for Pakatan Rakyat in the 2013 General Election, and said the move was akin to providing Umno a lifeline.
“Whatever we do we must never give Umno-Barisan Nasional, which has ruled with tyranny, lifeline..but this group is giving them lifeline”.
Conservatives close to Umno routed the progressives in the PAS polls leaving only one post to the latter group. Analysts said the election results effectively removed any obstacle for Hadi to pursue co-operation with Umno.
Mat Sabu said there is a need for a paradigm shift after the PAS polls, and said Muslims now must now undo the damage done by the present PAS leadership by following the true teachings of Islam.
Mat Sabu stressed that that would be his focus now.
“In the Muslim world now we have a problem where they only profess Islam in their rituals. They are only Muslims in ritual, but not morally. But my campaign will be to ensure that we not only promote ritual Islam, but its morality as well”.
Mat Sabu was among the progressives defeated in the recent PAS election .
He was accused of conspiring to topple Hadi, a claim he said was trumped up as part of a ploy to wipe the progressives out.
Women’s bodies invite rape, Ridhuan Tee says
Tee also said today that covering up one’s ‘aurat’ does not guarantee protection from rape, but stressed that it was merely a preventive measure. — YouTube videograbKUALA LUMPUR, Feb 16 — Controversial columnist Ridhuan Tee Abdullah claimed today that women’s bodies attract rapists, amid an uproar over a recent Friday sermon that linked women’s dressing to sexual assault.
Pointing out the difference between the shape of women’s and men’s bodies, Tee said in his column on Malay daily Sinar Harian that by “exposing and flaunting” their bodies, women are motivating men to commit rape.
“The logic is simple. Women’s bodies are alluring and arousing,” said Tee in the article titled “Bila si jahil berbicara (When the ignorant speak)”.
The lecturer at the Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin’s Research Institute for Islamic Products and Civilisation was explaining his reasons for disagreeing with a claim by G25 earlier this month that Kelantan will be overrun by paedophiles should the PAS government implement hudud.
G25, the moniker used to refer to the group of prominent Malay former civil servants, had said at a forum on February 7 that this is because the Islamic penal code dismisses the need for scientific evidence to prove crimes like zina (sex outside marriage).
“Why so quick to condemn Islamic law when we have yet to experience it here?” Tee asked. “If you claim to practise Islam, then where is your confidence in Allah?”
He claimed that humans are more inclined towards committing good deeds rather than bad, and rational-thinking people were unlikely to rape others.
Only a select few would dare to commit such crimes, he pointed out.
“That is why Islam’s way is to prevent (crime) by taking harsh action,” he said.
Tee also claimed that wearing short skirts and going to nightclubs could lead to rape, sexual assault and other forms of violence against women.
The Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) said in its Friday sermon earlier this month that covering up one’s “aurat” would prevent women from being raped, sparking outrage from women’s groups and politicians who said that the Islamic authority was perpetuating rape myths.
“Aurat” in Malay refers to “intimate body parts” that Muslims must cover with clothing; exposing these is considered sinful.
Damansara Utama assemblyman Yeo Bee Yin from the DAP has since pointed out that Kelantan, which is governed by conservative Islamist party PAS, has the second-highest number of rape cases per 100,000 people in the country.
Yeo, who cited 2009 statistics from the Statistics Department, said Kelantan has 20 rape cases per 100,000 people while Negri Sembilan has the highest figure at 20.6 cases.
Tee said today that covering up one’s “aurat” does not guarantee protection from rape, but stressed that it was merely a preventive measure.
“If it’s fated that many of those who cover their ‘aurat’ are raped, then it’s fate,” said the Muslim convert.
Civil rights group Empower said last Monday that women’s clothing has nothing to do with rape, pointing out that rape victims in several high-profile cases in Malaysia include those wearing headscarves and young girls in “modest” clothing.
“The ultra kiasu said it’s those who cover their aurat who are the most commonly raped. It’s because loose cloth is easily removed, compared to tight pants,” said Tee today.
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If your wife dowan to have sex with you, bring her to Malaysia…WTF is wrong with these lawmaker monkeys. Can rape but cannot use force??? So if you drug your wife and rape her…. its legal… WTF…… I hope her hubby drug-rapes her and see what she says….This is utterly ridiculous
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/ma...ster-announces
Marital rape will remain non-crime, Malay law minister announces
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Nancy Shukri said Putrajaya through the Parliamentary Select Committee on rape decided against making the amendment to Section 375 of the Penal Code. ― Picture by Yusof M
KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 — De facto law minister Nancy Shukri today said the government will not amend Section 375 of the Penal Code to categorise non-consensual sex between a married couple as rape.
She said Putrajaya through the Parliamentary Select Committee on rape decided against making the amendment as sex between a man and woman in a legitimate marriage cannot be considered as rape.
“Based on the research tabled to the committee, the government had decided to maintain the provisions under Section 375 of the Penal Code that sex between a husband and wife in a lawful marriage cannot be considered as rape.
“Until today there is no suggestion for it to be amended,” Nancy said in a Parliamentary written reply.
“However, the act of a husband in causing hurt to his wife with the purpose of soliciting sex was already considered an offence under Section 375A of the Penal Code since September 7, 2007,” she added.
Under Section 375A of the Penal Code, a man who uses harm or the threat of violence to obtain sex from his wife, or any other person, may be imprisoned up to five years upon conviction.
Malaysians are divided over the issue of marital rape and the subject became a hotly debated topic recently when Muslims argued that, in Islam, non-consensual sex in a marriage cannot be considered rape.
The issue blew up after a state lawmaker from DAP launched a campaign to educate the public about rape, which included a poster saying that non-consensual sex in a marriage was also considered rape..
Disagreement to the existence of marital rape was not limited to Muslims, however, with one apparently non-Muslim user claiming that a husband having non-consensual sex with his wife did not equate to forced intercourse.
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Saudi Court Sentences Gang Rape Victim to 200 Lashes
The victim of a violent gang rape has been sentenced by a Saudi Arabian court to 200 lashes and six months in jail for the crimes of speaking to the press and indecency.
According to Sharia Law, a Saudi Arabian woman must be accompanied by a male guardian at all times in public, something the 19 year old victim did not obey when she went to meet a friend, according to website Live Buddhism.
While in a car with a student friend, retrieving a picture, two men got into the vehicle and drove them to a secluded area. She said she was raped there by seven men, three of whom also attacked her friend.
The Shi’ite Muslim woman had initially been sentenced to 90 lashes after being convicted of violating the Kingdom’s religious diktats on segregation of the sexes, where woman are treated as second class citizens.
After the sentences were handed down following the rape in 2006, which included lenient custodial sentences for the men guilty of the violent crime, the woman’s lawyer appealed to the Saudi General Court. But instead of choosing to overturn the punishments for being the victim of a crime, the court more than doubled her sentence. At the same time, they also roughly doubled the prison sentences for the seven men convicted of raping her, according to Saudi news outlets.
Abdul Rahman al-Lahem, who defended the woman, reached out to the media after the sentences were handed down. The court has since banned him from further defending the woman, confiscating his license and summoning him to a disciplinary hearing later this month.
Saudi Arabia defended the controversial decision to punish the victim, saying that she was at fault for being out without a male friend, something which was met with international outcry.
“The Ministry of Justice welcomes constructive criticism, away from emotions,” it said in a statement.
The statement also said that the “charges were proven” against the woman for having been in a car with a strange male, and repeated criticism of her lawyer for talking “defiantly” about the judicial system, saying “it has shown ignorance.” They also added that the sentence was increased because the victim had spoken to the media. “For whoever has an objection on verdicts issued, the system allows to appeal without resorting to the media,” a statement on the official Saudi Press Agency said.
Politicians from the West reacted angrily to the news, with Jose Verger, the Canadian minister responsible for women, calling it “barbaric” and saying the country would complain to Saudi authorities.
U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, “I think when you look at the crime and the fact that now the victim is punished, I think that causes a fair degree of surprise and astonishment. It is within the power of the Saudi government to take a look at the verdict and change it.”
UK political activist Angharad Yeo, who is half Saudi and has campaigned against violation of women’s rights at home and abroad. said it “sends a clear message that women are not valued and only seen as a possession.”
The UKIP member described the ruling as “disgusting”, adding that a woman was being punished “because men in Islam are weak and pathetic and hide behind Islam. What message does that send to young women?” she asked.
“You can’t ever protect yourself and your well being is a lottery. Should you be unfortunate enough to be assaulted, expect for it to be your own fault.”
The New York based Human Rights Watch said the verdict “not only sends victims of sexual violence the message that they should not press charges, but in effect offers protection and impunity to the perpetrators.”
Jailed: Muslim businessman who repeatedly raped and threatened victim before driving her to mosque to be wed is first successful prosecution under new forced marriage law
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...riage-law.html
- 34-year-old, who cannot be identified, repeatedly raped 25-year-old woman
- He secretly filmed her showering and threatened to make footage public
- Man, who was also married, developed ‘irrational obsession’ with his victim
- He has been jailed for 16 years at Cardiff Crown Court for seven charges including forced marriage, rape and bigamy
A Muslim businessman who repeatedly raped his victim before threatening to kill her father if she refused to be his wife has become the first person in Britain to be prosecuted under new forced marriage laws.
In the landmark case, the 34-year-old man from Cardiff, described as ‘arrogant, manipulative and devious’, was jailed for 16 years for making a 25-year-old woman marry him under duress.
Merthyr Crown Court heard how the man, who was already married, developed an ‘irrational obsession’ with his victim.
The first time that he raped her, the man lured her to his home under the false pretense of a get-together with friends.
But when she arrived at his home, the woman found the property empty before the curtains were drawn and the front door locked.
A judge then told of how the terrified woman - a devout Muslim - was bound and gagged with scarves before music was played loudly to drown out her cries for help as he raped her.
But the woman’s ordeal was far from over.
Following the attack, the man encouraged the woman to take a shower.
But, unbeknown to the victim, he had secretly recorded her showering by hiding a camera in the towel rail.
He later showed her the footage and threatened to make the ‘intimate’ video public unless she married him.
He then carried out a six-month ‘campaign of repeated and systematic rape’ against the woman, the court heard.
Sentencing the man, Judge Daniel Williams said the defendant used ‘constant threats’ to try to keep his victim quiet.
‘You made her feel that she was no longer marriage material (for anyone else) in the hope that she would turn to you,’ he said.
The court heard that on another occasion, following months of abuse, the man suddenly turned up at the woman’s place of work and drove her straight to a mosque to get married.
While there, he warned the victim that, if she did submit to his demand, her parents would be killed, the court heard.
Judge Williams said the forced marriage left her so distressed that she considered taking her own life.
The Cardiff businessman pleaded guilty to four counts of rape, as well admitting forced marriage, bigamy and voyeurism.
Judge Williams said: ‘When you first raped her, she was still a virgin - something which you would use to ensure her silence.
‘After you had raped her you produced a laptop which had a video of her showering after you had installed a hidden camera in a towel rail.
The Cardiff businessman pleaded guilty to four counts of rape, as well admitting forced marriage, bigamy and voyeurism during a hearing at Merthyr Crown Court
The Cardiff businessman pleaded guilty to four counts of rape, as well admitting forced marriage, bigamy and voyeurism during a hearing at Merthyr Crown Court
‘You threatened that if she disclosed the rape to anyone, you would make that video public.’
The court heard that the man had preyed upon his victim for years and even managed to convince her that her then boyfriend was gay by setting up a fake Facebook page.
Judge Williams also detailed the defendant’s attempts to try to have his case thrown out. He said that the man’s constant change of plea right up until the 11th hour was an ’exercise of control’ over the woman in the hope that she drop the case.
The court was also told the man’s trial was aborted on the second day - just as his victim was due to give evidence in front of a jury - after he finally pleaded guilty.
Judge Williams deemed the man ‘a high risk’ to women and described the offending as ‘planned…over a significant period of time’.
He told him: ‘You are an arrogant, manipulative and devious man. While you have pleaded guilty….there has been no genuine show of remorse.
‘Over the period of which you raped her…it was your intention to cause her irreparable harm so that no one would want her.’
Detective Superintendent Lian Penhale of South Wales Police speaks to the media outside Merthyr Crown Court after a 34-year-old man was jailed for 16 years for the rape and forced marriage of a woman
Detective Superintendent Lian Penhale of South Wales Police speaks to the media outside Merthyr Crown Court after a 34-year-old man was jailed for 16 years for the rape and forced marriage of a woman
For the rapes, voyeurism, bigamy and forced marriage, the defendant was sentenced to 16 years custody before being made the subject of an extended licence for five years.
Judge Williams also said the man - who claimed to follow Islam - would remain on the sex offenders’ register for ‘an indefinite period’.
Before sending the defendant down, Judge Williams praised the victim’s bravery in coming forward.
‘She has continued to show courage and fortitude….and the court wishes her good fortune for the future - which she so richly deserves.’
Meirion Davies, defending, said there was ‘a lot of good’ in the convicted businessman.
The court heard he had run a ‘successful enterprise’ in Cardiff and had done a lot of work for charity, which involved mixing with well known sports personalities at charity events.
She has continued to show courage and fortitude….and the court wishes her good fortune for the future - which she so richly deserves
Judge Daniel Williams
Mr Davies said: ‘He has expressed regret about what he did.’
Forced marriage was criminalised under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and came into force last June.
Previously, courts had only been able to issue civil orders to prevent victims being forced into marriage.
In 2013 the government’s Forced Marriage Unit dealt with 1,302 cases - with 82 per cent of victims female, 18 per cent male and 15 per cent under the age of 15.
The cases involved 74 different countries with 43 per cent relating to Pakistan, 11 per cent to India and 10 per cent to Bangladesh.
Iwan Jenkins, Head of Crown Prosecution Wales Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Unit, said: ‘Forced marriage wrecks lives and destroys families. We hope that today’s sentence sends a strong message that forced marriage will not be tolerated in today’s Britain.
‘It is a testament to the strength of the case which we constructed with the police that we secured a guilty plea for the offences in this case.
‘The victim has shown great courage and bravery in reporting these matters. This conviction illustrates the seriousness in which these crimes are treated and investigated by the Crown Prosecution Service and South Wales Police.
‘I hope today’s sentence brings some closure for those who have suffered as a result of these particularly nasty and invasive crimes.’
Following the sentence, Detective Duperintendent Lian Penhale, of South Wales Police, said: ‘From the outset this complex case was a legal milestone in Wales and the UK and a benchmark to what can be achieved.
‘I hope that today’s sentencing will act as a catalyst to empower victims and those at risk to come forward and enable the police and our partners to give them the support they need to ensure they’re free from this criminal activity – and to bring the offenders to justice.’
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