5 yrs in jail for assisting criminal kiss

....linc, thanks for your support. On the other hand one though incident hasn't overshadowed my opinion about the rest of the nation. That's disguised racism, superficial, and inhuman

Their national uniform dress is irrelevant as well, it's just a uniform color on the surface (although very meaningful to them) but the true colors of an individual cannot be judged by what a person is wearing. Each individual is responsible or their own actions.

That's my conviction.

Good for you, Happy.

The younger generation of males are by far the worst, but to be fair, they are the worst in almost every country. The problem here is that they all where the same clothes and drive the same cars, so when one misbehaves they poorly represent the rest.

Am sure you will be rewarded for your good deed.

....hamadaCZ, the irony of it all, is that the offender himself thought he was above the law. He even refused to show up for interrogation, not to mention fabricating accusations and more details I'm not exactly happy to recall. I had witnesses elhamdu'Allah; his own friends.

Anyway, one incident in almost 2 years, is bearable.

Well done, am glad you reported him. Last year a police officer slapped an Asian worker, he was severely punished and lost his job, there are many similar cases, the system isn't perfect, but definitely not lenient.

.....hamadaCZ, I can only provide you with the details of my incomplete court case.

I was verbally abused by a Qatari, last year in Doha, had him dragged to the police station, filed a case, and then dropped it (for the sake of his mom).

Sorry, I had to mention the nationality here, to shut up those who claim that Qataris are always above the law, of course, there're exceptions, especially in my region.

Thank you. I will ask around.

According to Qatar's Penal Code article 290, public display of affection is Punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months and a fine of not more than three thousand riyals

I found verdict when disrupting a judicial process in court but not obstructing justice, and most articles penalize for a term not exceeding three years

You forgot to add divorcee.

I get your point, I've heard about a similar case in the UAE when a lady (plaintiff)who was raped by her BF got punished as well because she was married and got involved in extramarital affair.

Again , I wish if someone could provide us with a detailed case, I really don't understand how come a guy can walk with 5 years after appealing a life sentence, something is missing.

Another request , could anyone find out what is the max sentence for obstructing justice ? just to enlighten us.

.....kbaisi, then I'm glad you pointed it out to me, so I can better explain to you and John (and maybe others). I was giving a real life example where the judge would be in a very difficult situation, as per the law, to intensify the sentence against the rapist. In this case he may mitigate the ruling due to the woman's consent to unite with an unrelated man in a private place.

There is also another major issue of an unmarried woman who claims that she was raped, if forensics proved she have had previous relationships (was not a virgin at the time she was raped), in which case, she is either considered a married woman or a prostitute. She would be harshly convicted in both cases.

I hope I'm clearer now.

....Blood, I'm explaining the law as I understand it. Unlike some men on this thread making fun of abused women and acting as if they care. I'm only conveying a message to women to be careful.

The reason I brought up this case, was to explain why sentences seem ridiculous. Simply, the judge only acts on the provisions of the law as they are. He is not entitled to re-write them.

that means why the h**l she was alone with that man in the first place, and when it comes with the rules here this itself is a crime.

Lol John, you are on a roll today! :)

@ happy happy I too interpreted your statement the same way as John did but did not comment on it.

...John Of Arc, you should apologize for insisting on twisting my words. What you're still assuming is very offensive to me as a woman. In addition, the mere fact that you haven't even cared to ask about what happened to that friend, is quite mind boggling!

You should know better.

mind your business.....isn't a good practise?

.....linc, the last three lines are the core and crux. This is where the country is heading, but as I said somewhere on QL, this transition will take a few generations to be brought about, it just started with Qatarization and reforming education. Still there would be expats, but only on short term basis, unlike now, if we're all gone, the country is doomed.

Yes, Happy Canada's Day to you too, Nic!

Harry99--Every country's legal system is imperfect with all sorts of odd, largely unenforced laws on the books. For example, the state of Missouri (in the US midwest, where I lived for a spell) had a law that had never been officially repealed that allowed citizens to kill Mormons. It was leftover from the 19th century and, obviously, no longer enforced; someone just happened to stumble across it. My point was just that age of a nation is not the best indicator of how just its legal system is.

Also, one could legitimately argue that Qatar's legal system has been evolving since the 7th century.

Happy Happy--I do not think the future of Qatar is all black. The current regime is clearly progressive and forward-thinking, particularly with regard to education and interaction with other nations. Any cultural and economic revolution, which is essentially what is happening here, is bound to endure conservative backlash, but the biggest problems Qatar faces is the disparity of distribution of wealth, human trafficking and the struggle for an identity and importance as nationals become an increasingly marginaized group. By the last I mean that the nationals essentially really only control the legal and political system and through this they have an artificial control over the economy and culture (i.e. Qatar depends on foreign contractors to produce, manage and secure much of its wealth, while it uses legal mechanisms to prevent a free market for business ownership, property ownership and advantages in employment--Qatarization--for nationals). This means that backlash against reforms will appear as tantrums in the legal system with such episodes of handing down tough sentencs to expats who flought cultural laws (without, of course, actually jailing the very Western professionals on whom the economy relies). It also means that Qatar has but a brief window for its national population to educate itself into greater self-sufficiency or suffer the same curse that virtually all single-resource-rich countries do.

....Harr99, It's very normal for a country to revisit its legal system (and the constitution) else it would turn archaic.

I am in no way defending Qatar. I would though disagree with you about maturity of a nation. Canadian judicial system is based on the British legal system which has matured over hundreds of years. Laws change as society develops and matures. For example, although Canada is probably the most progressive nation for civil rights, it was not until 1983, that the law was changed to make spousal sexual assault an offence.

No Problem, Please feel free to criticise or ask, am not the judge here, my point is you can't build such a conclusion based on fragments. Something isn't right, but we don't have the details.

....hamadaCZ, I wasn't at all criticizing you, I was just trying to scope your question to see how to provide for your request.

....Yes Nic, maybe someone is reading our views, and even if not, reform is coming, just give it time!

I wasn't sure about your country of origin. Canada has a special place in my heart. Toronto to be more exact.

Happy July 1st to all my fellow Canadians. Sorry you had to work today..:)

I know its a broad question just like how some here came to a broad conclusion about the judicature.

Thanks Linc, I totally agree with you!

Happy Canada's day!

....linc, great post indeed. I calculate Qatar's age as of the date the current ruling family took over.

Most definitely and undeniably Qatar mostly uses its money to bypass the normal process and time should be taken for development and now rushing for 2022. YET, no one seems ot care to shed any light on the reform the country has been working to materialize and bring about for its citizens.

It is stumbling with education reform and is establishing a legal system that is NOT tribal, and is re-building its infrastructure, and is gearing its people to instill the culture of Qatarization is their daily life.

Is there anything positive anyone see in Qatar. It's all pitch black?!

Happy,

That's irrelevant to the topic, but as you asked, my country is 147 years old today!

I guess its judicial system 47 years ago, was not that different from what it is today, certainly noting that could possibly resemble the current Qatari situation.

Let people express their point of views they may vary but all have their reasons. As you said, who knows if someone who reads this will have a say in improving the current chaos.

Happy, Happy--To say that Qatar is too young a country to have a reasonable legal system is tiresome. This is a blanket excuse you (and a few others) seem to offer when the inadequacies of Qatar are highlighted. Besides, what constitutes the age of a country--declaration of independence, age of a particular regime, or length of time people have continually inhabited a region? By any of these standards the Federal Republic of Germany is newer than Qatar, dating its current incarnation as a nation to only 1990.

Regardless, age has precious little to do with maturity in judicial systems; far greater factors are GDP, distribution of wealth and levels of education. Qatar has wealth, but the disparity in distribution is near the worst in the world (and getting worse), and the level of education is poor relative to GDP (but slowly getting better).

For the record, Nic's (and my) country was officially recognized by the international community as an independent nation in 1919. This means it is not yet 100 years old, but Canada's justice system is undeniably (and by this I mean as recognized by the wider world and the United Nations) far greater than Qatar's.

....hamadaCZ, isn't this a broad question? Are you asking for the whole litigation processes and procedures from case initiation to final ruling for a certain case type?

Can anyone here post a fully detailed legal case ?

....Nic, I asked you on another thread where was your country at when it was 100 years old. Now I'm asking you the same question. You're all asking too much of a country finding a place on the map. And most of you are very satisfied to proclaim themselves as supreme looking down at their own country or other countries.

You're so hung up on nationalities and John of Arc is obsessed with religions, I'm obsessed with fairness in judgment about a fledgling country.

"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing". It amazes me how some QLers constantly attack Qatar out of ignorance, how can you attack the judicature based on a few edited articles in an English papers when your sole source is an english papers in an Arabic country,at least learn something about the people,culture and language. To stay on topic, most of these "lenient" cases are already resolved outside the court,so charges are dropped already.The sentence you hear about it is called "Altaazir" that's why it may sound very lenient compared to where you come from.

Excellent post john, I fully agree.

John,

You completely nailed it, explaining the desperate and often unsubstantiated counterattacks of some Qlers:

"I think you, like many others on qatarlving exaggerate to compensate for the light being shown on problems in your own arab countries."

Its is so obvious and at the same time really sad, for them to instead of admitting their own failures and to work on their improvements, often they divert the attention from their own problems counter-attacking the "west" and if possible inventing a projection of their problems into the western world!

Thus the actual situation across "their world"!

As for the judicial system here, well we all know how it works with Egyptian expats working as judges under the sponsorship and payroll of Qataris... the results is out there and some part of it (a tiny part) licked in the papers for all of us to admire their “competences” and consistent sense of justice!

The joke of the current “system” can only be acknowledge when a real judicial system takes places, perhaps in a very far future. Only then a mature society will be able to look back and admit how pathetic and unreliable and even dangerous it was.

Hey! About if I kiss my own "GLUTEOUS" will that provoke a massive exodus from QL? Muak, Muak, Muakis, I can't hold my own breath any longer, those awfull smelly gases! Run away!

...John Of Arc, you either take back this nonsense you just blabbed about regarding my stance towards raped women, or you ask me if you didn't get my point. Your argument is disappointing and makes me want to puke.

John

i'll appreciate ur last phrase.

Qatar in its best!

If they keep the effort soon they'll reach their mother land's reputation.

Support FIFA2022

we didn't reach to answer of this topic

lala...la laaa

life is life...

well i figure it surely is... given the status of residency in this country... it sure does sound abnormal.

it would sound obscene if some dude wanted to fuse religion with law in my country... it sure would.

.....EXLegend, actually through a forum like QL you'd read lots of comments and get feedback you won't probably get from the official local press. You'd feel the vibes of the Qatari Street and hear the latest. I wouldn't advise to totally rely or make decisions based on what you read here, only as indicators.

And the "average" internets users of QL maybe have between them a future law maker of Qatar. I don't see anything "pathetic" about expressing and sharing opinions, suggestions, aspirations, and constructive arguments.

This is been discussed for the past 5 years already over In local newspapers and by many law professionals in Qatar

We’re not discussing something that haven’t been discussed already in many forums

...soniya, I forgot to add the "stranger" was a friend of hers, but in the eyes of law, he is not.

No... it won't i guess.

Still with the many international treaties that Qatar signed recently, I presume that amendments will definitely be issued one day.

Still, that doesn’t mean to abolish the sharia law. But distinguish cases between both civil & sharia courts . Since Family court is also preserving applying sharia for divorce, Inheritance & Minors cases

...soniya, those women are not necessarily wicked at all (some maybe are).

....This is a true story of a friend of a friend of mine, who got into a stranger's car, agreed to go to his apartment, had dinner and a couple of drinks, then she was assaulted by this manure!. (In some other regional countries, a case like this one would make the judge punish the victim instead of the perpetrator; at least Qatar is more advanced.)

I keep advising women to stay alert, and despite of that I still hear of women agreeing to going to some hotel room for a job interview. (?!!)

Be the judge in this case!

happy, lets do the worldwide search for that wicked WOMAN then...howz this idea??? lol

whats more funny then this incident is to read average internet users suggesting revision of a country's law.

lmao.. now thats hilarious and pathetic.

the teen spirit was deflected to the wrong direction :D

...genesis, that won't happen anytime soon, right?

What is missing in this picture is an integrated Criminal law Which is derived from international laws and Separates religion from legislation

...soniya, at least it's made known in many parts of the world that public affection is punished by law or socially stigmatized. My concern is about women who bring their culture to Qatar, and behave accordingly, then end up paying a dear price for their ignorance.

happy, yes even i have the same thought that the punishment announced for him is quite harsh..But we are not above the law..everyone shld respect it..The couples who were kissing in full public view were the criminals including this GUTSY boy who interrupted one country's law...

....genesis, and the point is?

In addition to all that , there is the Supreme council for family affairs that overlooks the family court & the following laws

Law No. 22 for the year 2006 on Family Law / 2006

Law No. 22 of the year 2005, on prohibiting using, employing, training and involving children in the camel race. / 2005

Law No. 2 for the year 2004 on Persons with Disabilities / 2004

Law No. 40 for the year 2004 on Trust of Minors' Wealth / 2004

Law No. 1 for the year 1994 on Adolescent Delinquency / 1994

The judiciary in Qatar have a Supreme Council to supervise the proper functioning of courts of law and their auxiliary organs.

The judiciary’s Supreme Council was set up in 1999 to ensure the independence of the judiciary. It discharges the following functions:

• Giving opinion on issues related to the judiciary, and studying and proposing the special legislation to develop the judicial system.

• Giving opinion on the appointment, promotion, transference and retirement of judges in accordance with the law.

• Deciding on the grievances related to judges affairs, where the council's decision shall be final.

• Discharging other functions vested in it by any other law, besides the matters that the president of the Judiciary Supreme Council decides to bring to the council's attention.

Public Prosecution

The Public Prosecution shall conduct public actions in the name of the people, supervise the law enforcement, and ensure the enforcement of criminal laws. The law shall regulate the functions of this body; specify the condition and guarantees pertaining to the staff discharging the functions of the same according to Article 136 of the Constitution and 10 / 2002 Law on Public Prosecution.

Preliminary Court

The Preliminary Court has chambers to decide on doctrinal provisions (hudood), punishments (qisas), criminal, civil and commercial, personal affairs, inheritance, administrative disputes and other cases. Each court decides on the cases referred to it in accordance with the law. Other preliminary courts can be formed in other towns as per a decision from the judiciary’s supreme council.

Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal is responsible for deciding on the appeals filed against the sentences issued on doctrinal provisions (hudood), punishments (qisas), criminal, civil and commercial cases, personal affairs, inheritance, administrative disputes and other cases.

Court of Cassation

The Court of Cassation has chambers to decide on cases of objection for cassation on rulings and proceedings of the law.

The jurisdiction of Constitutionality

According to the provisions of Article 140 of the Constitution, the law shall specify the competent judicial body for settling of disputes pertaining to the constitutionality of laws and regulations, define its powers and method of challenging and procedures to be followed before the said body. It shall also specify the consequences of judgment regarding unconstitutionality.

The jurisdiction of Administrative Disputes of laws and Regulations

According to the provisions of Article 138 of the Constitution, the law shall specify a competent judicial body for settling of Administrative Disputes of laws and regulations and define its powers. In 2008 law 12/2008 established the Supreme Constitutional Court.

Shari'a Courts

The Presidency is composed of the following main administrative units:

A) Shari'a appeal court which comprises:

• 1st chamber

• 2nd chamber.

B) Preliminary Shari'a court which comprises the following chambers:

• Marital affairs and rights.

• Major crimes and doctrinal provisions (hudood)

• Legacies

• Shari'a archives

• Sentence execution

....soniya, the teenager has obstructed justice, regardless if we agree or not with what he has obstructed. But for a teen, I'd say 5 years sentence is ridiculously extreme.

Every couple residing in middle east should behave appopriately when they are out in public..MODESTY is the word that they should keep it in their mind..It is highly unacceptable and unethical..

As far as the questions of this guy is concerned who was sentenced for acting SMART in between, i would say it was his BAD LUCK + he shld've not interferred in a case that consider to be highly unethical in a country..

...genesis, we agree there are loopholes, no question about it. I'm also making sure we're not depicting Qatar as a country harboring unpunished murderers, rapists and the like. Qatar is more advanced than some of its neighboring countries which would convict the victims and leave the perpetrators with no charges.

Kbaisi, I'm stressing on women abuse on this platform for awareness. As for children abuse, many guilty pedophiles in "advanced" countries have been, in my opinion, bailed out by having them pay monetary settlements for the victims and suspending them. What kind of legal system is this? I would settle a case like this one with chopping off some body parts of those animals with no tails to ensure they're impotent for life.

the english newspapers report only half the story. You need to follow the arabic press to know what exactly the charges are.

Thanks genesis, that's exactly my point happy happy, and if you read the articles I posted it was confirmed some of those women were kidnapped, and I have read of cases of kids as young as 11 being the victims, are they also "uniting with stranger men"?

I don't think kbaisi was implying that Qatar was lawless in any of his arguments! But rather, that there is inconsistency in many of the rulings. And that's not his opinion alone. As I've written earlier, so far we don't have an integrated personal status law. Many thinks that the family law 22/2006 is the personal status law, where in fact it's not.

In addition, there is still this fine line between what lawsuit goes to sharia court and what goes to the other courts and which law is applied where

Many conservatives are not happy either, as they think you either apply sharia law or you don't.

....Kbaisi, despite admiring your analysis presented earlier, but I won't back you or any other person up on defaming Qatar as lawless. I will not promote that without statistics.

To answer your question, a large number of rape crimes against women in Qatar is due to women uniting with stranger men unlawfully (as per the law), it makes it harder for the judge to sentence the rapist as should, and some facts of a case will force him to mitigate the punishment.

The sentence for proven rape, as applied in my country, is lifetime imprisonment or death. It should not be any less. It's the ugliest crime ever.

Note: Sorry for my late response.

"surprise"

Am I supposed to laugh?

Ha Ha...................

SURPRISE!!!

time and proper education will change all those barbaric rulings .

rofl, Jut!

:) "surprise sex"

and how many rapes go unreported? You get attacked and then you could end up going to jail for illicit relations.... even if the guy is convicted he is likely to get a light sentence.

It's not rape. It's surprise sex.

all we can say is

;)

There are endless cases of rapes and murder where the sentences are just pathetic, and then there a lot of cases for crimes where nobody was hurt but end up with ridiculously harsh sentences.

Well its totally up to the judge to decide in case of "Altaazir".The system is not perfect, but I don't think its that lenient, we can't rely on a short published (edited) column, something is missing.

am sure it works every where nowadays, and on this topic I can never agree more with you.

Yes John, you are right, but something is missing here, as I stated earlier at my post, there is something called "Altaazir", we don't know the details, it looks like he got himself a big discount !

"The Indian was earlier tried in absentia by the same judges panel and was awarded a life sentence in February 2009." looks like a missing piece from the puzzle !

argh and

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=237302&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

Found guilty TWICE and STILL has his sentence suspended for attempting to rape a woman.

just read this one

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=299775&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

and wow...just wow...

Let's just list this things wrong with this.

woman forced into prostitution deported before trial so unable to give her side of the story to the court.

Court agrees she put up fierce resistance...but due to money issues.

"The third accused denied the rape charges saying that the woman (25) had agreed to meet his friend for sexual purposes.

“She asked for more money than we agreed upon and therefore I beat her up. Our disagreement was only about money and nothing else,” the third accused told the judge."

Get's rape charges dropped and reduced to pimping.

3 years for ruining a woman's life.

Even if the plaintiff drops the charges (in exchange for monetary compensation for example), the court has the right to punish the defendant "Altaazir". Some of the mentioned cases had been settled outside the courts already, the punishments you read sometimes are "Altaazir" .

Don't read this kind of articles in news papers.

3 years for sending sms , 5 years for 150 QR potential theft .....etc

1 month for reckless driving and causing danger for public

Happy happy makes it seem like these press articles I posted were random and an attempt to twist the reality of a situation as we don't know what actually took place in each case. Well how many different ways is their to commit murder or rape? Are the judges expected to be lenient when it was 'accidental' rape? Please enlighten me on how exactly it is the facts of the case that can justify such joke sentences for murder/rape?

Look here is another article from today, another guy gets only 5 years in jail for kidnapping a woman and then raping her! I don't even have to bother looking for sources as the local media is reporting it for all to access. http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=370174&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

As for the French example, no, there is no way he would be sentenced for as long as what people get for rape/murder over there, so he would be punished, but he won't "rot in jail".

No he won't bleu. Probably get a couple of months jail time. If that was the case here (and I agree with your principal) they no one would care. But 5 years that is criminal!

LOL...

Let's look at this from another angle... And take your culture and upbringing out of it......

Something illegal was hapening, and he "used force" to stop a policeman from doing his job, and the "criminals" were able to escape. This has a name, obstructing justice.

Let's look at another example...

A niqabi woman in France... She appears in public, a police officer tries to arrest her, but an 18-year old Muslim "used force" to stop a policeman from doing his job, and she was able to escape. Won't he rot in jail.

....Ines_pt, a couple of press articles about what seems to be lenient sentences for hideous crimes do not warrant for a solid base of assumption that the judicial system in Qatar is led by unjust criminals, setting free thugs at large. We have no clue about the details of any of those crimes.

The Diyah (paid for the family of the victim of road accidents) may be a reason why sentences sound unfair. I equally realize there is a flaw in system, and the country is working on it, but it will take longer time.

I'm against many of the unfounded hypotheses made on this thread.

what a country!!!!!

Regardless of moral, values, customs, etc... the kid needs to be punished for this offense, but five years? Come on! I am not even going to make comparisons with previous cases of rape or murdering, I believe that all-in-all here or anywhere in the world, 5 years is a little too much for this offense.

Unless, it's a sharia court, the ruling will be based on whatever the judge sees appropriate

It's been mentioned several times in the local newspaper that a unified personal status law will soon be released with application of community services on minor felonies.

It's unclear when will this be released or whether there is resistance among the advisory or ministries council to release this law. As for sure many locals will be outraged as it's not sharia law

The kid should be charged with stopping the cop from performing his duty, he would be anywhere else in the world (providing he's 18 +) My issue is the same as Kibasi's, I don't understand how this deserves a harsher punishment then murder & rape, and the fact that it does makes me severally question the morals and ethics of this country.

after reading this news. I promise to be more careful in Public.. I thought I could get away with this kind of behaviour..:)

FS...good morning...:)

well said happy...its so true..

Harry99...can't agree any less there with you...some people come on topics to push through there unending rants about the level of people's intellect, quality of discussion they get into on this site and how bad anything and everything in Qatar is...they would make sense if they have posted something which could be even remotely considered as making sense rather than just going around and picking on people and trying to make fun of them, looking at themselves as to why they are here if this place in their opinion, sucks....seems these people are quite disturbed for reasons best known to them and with loads of inferiority complex.

harry...its a sad fact!

some people can chnnge their ids...but not their attitude!!

What a self centred and unpleasant people some of you are. Rather than being constructive, you band together, pat each other on the back, pass so called witty remarks punctuated with the odd ";)" and insult others with your holier than thou atttude.

Thank you for reminding me why I don't log on to QL too regularly.

i'm agreed with Xena suggestion, being a Qatari u can bring or atleast can showup urself, unlike rest of some Qlers, who are ready each time for bashing only.

PS:Kbaisi, some times hardly i can differentiate ur opinions from Dali ;)

Here's an example just how messed up the laws are and make no sense, the kid in the case above got 5 years in jail for stopping the cop but it seems no physical harm was inflicted upon him.

These guys get 3 years in jail for forcing a woman into prostitution.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=299775&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

Here a guy poses as a cop, kidnaps a woman and tries to rape her but only gets 3 years in jail.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=283265&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

Here a man kidnaps a woman and attempts to rape her, and only gets one year.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=237302&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

These are just some examples but there are many more that are just disgusting and sickening, off the top of my head I recall a case where three men who had raped an 11 year old boy only got 3 years in jail (the accomplice only 1 year), a driver who raped a 12 year old girl and only got one year in jail, and much more.

I always hear and read of the outrage on how people are dressed and public indecency, but not once can I recall hearing these same groups complain of these joke of a sentence handed out for these serious crimes.

In my honest opinion I suspect that it was the reason for why the kid had interfered rather than the fact that he interfered which led to him being handed a harsh sentence; he was perceived to be helping spread what is deemed locally as public indecency. Whether I am correct or not the fact remains that there is no consistency with the law, and those who are prepared to speak up and voice support for this harsh sentence don't usually seem to be as bothered for the light sentences for more serious crimes.

and rewrite some of the laws in this country...

Yes people have been offended by public indecency so I guess it makes more sense from their perspective to handout harsh punishments to those stopping cops without physically harming them (from pursuing a couple kissing in public), but if you want to rape someone and you do it in private (same applies to murder) it's ok because the public won't see it.

I am sure a lot of you wouldn't be as critical of this guy if he had for example stopped a cop from giving out a parking ticket because he felt sorry for a car owner who appears to be poor because of a beat down car he drives, which he had parked wrongly at a mosque because there were no parking spots left, and he did it because he did not want to miss his prayers. Silly example but you get the point. In both cases the kid is committing the same offense of preventing the cop from doing his duties, would you still feel that 5 years is a justifiable sentence?

Presuming that you do answer yes to the question above then please consider this next, based on the report it mentions no violence towards the police officer, so my point is what the hell? You let murderers and rapists get away with slaps on the wrist but this guy gets a serious sentence where the cop wasn't hurt?

Where are the cops when it comes to the reckless drivers who put people's lives at risks? I think you have your priorities mixed up if you are more fearful of seeing kisses than you are by the lunatics driving recklessly on the streets from day to night.

People here seem to think that those criticizing the judgment are trying to corrupt the moral values of the society, they don't get that the point is you guys make a huge fuss over such things where no one is even injured, but overlook much more serious crimes where people are killed or permanently injured, be it physically or mentally. And this kid stopping a cop, even if he punched him, is no where near as serious as murder or rape where the perpetrators of such violent crimes are usually handed out very light sentences.

Ah I see....was a bit worried there for a moment!

I have a Tshirt which says " I may not always right, but I am never WRONG" ;)

John ,think? Really? On QL? wow.....;)

the worst m8

It seems you really have something today which is really bothering you, from what I see out of your postings you have got to cool down man.

We don't know the full details of the case. Mane he beat ghe policeman with a metal bar so he deserves the sentence but then again it was a minor incident as it seems it's nonesense.

I have a feeling that you are naughty...

Sorry about that , just wanted to share a thought with John :)

I understand your point regarding the sentence, but I think the severe sentence had to do with the kissing.

well .. it's the first thing ppl are told when coming to Qatar is to respect the religion and traditions here..

it's well known that kissing in public is frowned upon and illegal ! so why do it?

and as for the teenager ! serves him right ! he lives here he knows the rules and he should never have stopped the cop ! the cop should run this nosey fella over !

are we now talking about behavior, that happened in the court, please we are not talking about a personal and behavioral issue.

I have seen the British police being pushed over the edge several times and still were behaving in a well mannered way.

really know that John you know your country more than I do, and I will not argue with you.

And again the kissing was not the issue guys, stopping a police from doing something called his duty no matter how minor is it for some, is a crime.

wht a load of bullcrap

He wasn't stopping him from catching a murderer , they were kissing, not killing anyone.

thnx

wise sounds are getting rhythm.

Harry, this is exactly what am saying the kissing guy ran away, the young guy was not defending human rights, please read the article and understand it.

Why are people having problems reading the artcle. The guy was sentenced for "stopping the policeman from performing his duties". The kissing thing is by the by.

If this's the law of this country

A couples were caught romping in front of families in a public beach (Sandown) last week in Britain, they were arrested on public indecency charge, so even in Britain you can get arrested for a similar case like what happened in Dubai.

I agree with britexpat, the prosecutor is trying to send a strong message to the public, the poor kid is the guinea pig who happened to be @ the wrong place @ the wrong time.

@ Kbaisi, I think you are aware of the growing anger among the locals regarding the public indecency topic, I agree with you that the sentence is disproportionate and harsh, but for most of public indecency cases, a suspended sentenced and deportation of the defendant is a typical punishment.

is going too far, as I understood that for some this was a very harsh sentence, and others are saying it is just a message for the community to be aware, well I say somehow its a very big crime to stop a police man, I have seen in Europe and even in the USA some police men just shooting on anyone tries to stop them, no matter what they are trying to do, the police man was trying to stop something against the rules in the state, and the young man stopped him from doing his duties and that is why he got the sentence, and not because he was helping for human rights, anyways the sentence was a bet harsh and hard for such a crime, but we can't help it the judge have seen that this is fair enough.

everyone is entitled to his/her opinion.

Talking about sense here! The question is, who got one?

take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves... meaning looking after the small money will make you wealthy...

but translated for this thread: Punish the petty crimes that will eventually lead to big crimes... or something like that...

Although it makes no sense in most places, since things like standing up for others rights is not normally punishable anywhere else in the world...

OK now I have confused myself....;-S

And another platitude...ah well!

Thanks ..Flattery will get you everywhere ...

Nomerci has the right to her opinion - as do you. I have no problem with discussion and differences in opinion - as long as they don't differ from mine :O)

"I disagree with what you say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it!"

Voltaire told me on 29 May 1778, evening time!

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PS: he died on 30! :P

Medical certificate: "No blood in the body!"

exiled, sure he does! As does everybody else.

And since this a public forum , anybody can say what they want as long as they do not go against forum rules...and as far as I know, analyzing is not against the rules...as is being a consistent sycophant.....lol

I agree exiled, however there seems to be a strong desire in the courts of this region to hand out more severe punishments for victimless crimes than to those who kill/rape others.

Britexpat has the right to his views. They may come across as pyscophantic but he is consistent in his approach

Preventing a police officer doing his duty should carry a punishment maybe a couple of months in jail or more if force is used. That's one issue. Kissing in public it's a bit pathetic. It never hurt anyone and a polite please can you stop that should be sufficent

Brit, that is your opinion, mine is different.I did not personally attack you, this time lol, this time I only analyzed what you said and why.

British that stand up against the irrational and overbearing established system are called Americans.

I believe that I am ethical and moral in what I believe in and stand up for. You don't know me so, you can't judge me. I offered my viewpoint on the topic. It would have been better for you to do the same rather than personaly attack me.

Just because we don't agree on something does not mean that I am being PC.

do i've the right to express my feelings with a big "LOL"

oh dear!

brit, I am not talking of a country's ethics, I am talking about your ethics.

This has nothing to do with ethics. It has to do with following the norms of a host country whether we like them or not.

I agree that the sentence is harsh. However, if you'd read my comments properly, you would understand that I said "they were trying to send a message"...

We may not like it, but such is life...

Brit, who knows, maybe one day you will cast aside your your fear and selfrighteousness and actually do something that defies the established rule of where you are,and is ethically sound...then you may be judged with the same yardstick as this boy. Hopefully you will experience the mercy that this boy has not.

5 years!!!

not a big deal, why the hell he was acting like a Big Dog.

The powers that be are sending a message to expats and to some extent locals. It is no different to what's happening in Dubai, since Abu Dhabi got the upper hand. The Conservatives are pushing their agends..

As for me, don't worry. I have worked in Saudi , Qatar and Kuwait. I know the rules and make sure that I abide by them - in public :O)

Hahahaha, what a funny country.

uhhh..uhhh

Brit "it's just a means....", for you that may be so, for the teenager and his family it is not just "just....".

I have to say, you really confirm the opinion I have of you, almost every day....Lord have mercy with however you may be in charge of one day....and you better pray that the Lord has mercy on you if and when you are judged by someone who thinks like you do.

My issue is with the disproportionate sentences they handout here, serious crimes like rape/murder always end up with a slap on the wrist, I have read of cases of child rapists getting 3 years more than once, and in one case only 1 year! People driving recklessly and actually killing innocent people don't even get more than 6 months. And this guy gets 5 years for preventing a cop from catching a couple kissing? Please, it wasn't like he physically assaulted the cop.

Insane. Should have tortured, raped and killed his maid ANC them the police would have often him a job.

ohhhhhhhhh

It's just a means of sending a message to the general public. The teen has obviously left the country and therefore the sentence does not carry much weight..

'The teen should have ran the cop over, at least for that he will get less than 6 months in jail and no one to report his crime. :P'

"Rule of the land"...what can we say. Poor teenager. His life has been ruined.

Can he still appeal in higher court? :-(

lesson learnt...mind your own business.