Amnesty International urges Malaysia to quash caning sentence of lesbians
International human rights group calls for an end to ‘the use of caning and repeal the laws that impose these torturous punishments completely’
Two unidentified ethnic Malay women, aged 22 and 32, had pleaded guilty for attempting to have sexual intercourse and were sentenced to six strokes of a cane and fined by a sharia court this month.
Amnesty’s Malaysian director Gwen Lee welcomed the deferment but said a delay was insufficient.
“We are pleased that the cruel and unjust punishment that was handed down to these two women did not take place as scheduled,” Lee said. “However, a delay is obviously not enough. Both women must now have their sentences quashed immediately and unconditionally to reverse this injustice once and for all.”
In Mahathir’s Malaysia, no gay rights and no free speech
Amnesty urged Malaysia to “end the use of caning and repeal the laws that impose these torturous punishments completely”.
Nearly two-thirds of Malaysia’s 31 million people are Muslims, who are governed by Islamic courts in family, marriage and personal issues.
The international rights group also said the court’s decision occurred amid growing concern of a climate of fear and discrimination against people in Malaysia’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community.
