text:
He had always looked at his hands as if they were sand in torrential rain. He felt the fragility of them weigh heavy upon his efforts, each attempt to grasp something substantial was counteracted by the necessity to shake, endlessly. It had begun on his seventh birthday and the doctors were reluctant to diagnose him with anything concrete, but even at that age Taylor knew he was unique, but not in the sense of an intricately designed snowflake, rather unique like a discarded necklace. Sure, there was sentiment and meaning at the very heart of him, but now, at the age of twelve, that had been substantially crushed by the sheer force behind the flaws on display.
His father was a mechanic, his steady hands and muscular frame were a source of pride that Taylor knew was unachievable. At night Taylor was unable to put himself to bed, the frustration of tucking himself under his duvet was too much of a hassle, it was task usually reserved for his father and his grease-ridden hands. He could no longer fall asleep without the smell of engine oil seeping through the sheets and leaving a temporary print on his chest, like the warm embrace of a hug he had not known for several years.
At night he would dream of planting his feet firmly into soil, like an abundant oak weathering a storm, no motions or quaking. As the storms would recede, the sun would clamber over the clouds and leave the world in a cigarette-stained hue, slowly an individual snowflake would fall upon Taylor’s face and melt gently into his flesh. Arms spread wide, Taylor could fly, he could match the birds for all their grace and chase the sunset. These dreams were swiftly becoming the only reason Taylor still found reason to live. At twelve he had already seen the splendour of grass on the other side, at twelve he was already awaiting death.
It was three days shy of his thirteenth birthday when he first began to find balance a troublesome conquest. He seemed inebriated without any of the mental occurrences, as if his legs had found a rundown bar whilst his brain slept. Taylor swelled with fear, he knew it wouldn’t be long before his whole body found the bar and dragged his brain along for the ride.
On his thirteenth birthday, Taylor received no cards or a cake, his father had taken the day off but spent the morning quietly staring at the unplugged TV. Taylor attempted to scream and shout at him, but the words wouldn’t come, there were no sounds; his mind had thrown out its dictionary and removed its microphone. Taylor attempted to grab his father but his body fought every urge to even walk towards him and collapsed under its own weight. He sat alone in the corner of the kitchen, back pressed against the washing machine. The spin cycle matched the beating of his heart.
Taylor’s father eventually stood, slowly walked towards him and grasped him into his arms, they no longer smelt soaked in oil, instead Taylor could smell the sea. Azure waves crashed within his head as his father pressed his hands to his ears, Taylor could hear the crabs fight, he could hear the cliff edges crumble, he could hear the sun pierce the ocean’s foam. He closed his eyes and drifted to sleep, there were no wings, storms or snowflakes this time, just Taylor alone in an empty room with no windows or doors, somebody had scrawled on the wall ‘Godzilla awaits outside’ in large blue ink.
Taylor awoke suddenly to the sound of crashing waves, yet his father was nowhere to be seen. He was on a beach, bucket and spade beside him, children all around building sandcastles. He looked behind him and noticed his father sat on a sandy dune, he called for Taylor to build. Taylor turned to the kid barely three meters from him, his hands were so steady, Taylor hands were a shipwreck compared to the other children’s calm seas.
He took great care and caution in filling his bucket, his hands spilled sand in various directions but Taylor cared little, he paid attention only to the incessant task of gently patting down each small amount that did make it into the bucket. The tide edged close, grabbing at sand with each furtive effort towards Taylor and the other children, some panicked and hastily filled their buckets, others carried on with little acknowledgment of the water.
When Taylor has filled his bucket, he attempted to lift it, but found it too heavy. His weak arms were like sugar in a hot tea, they barely moved before lactic acid tore his body apart, the strain too much. His father called for him to turn the bucket, to finish the job at hand. With great concentration, Taylor envisioned his feet as the roots of the great oak of his dreams, he had Godzilla’s strength and wings bloomed from his back. Taylor stood tall and lifted the bucket a few inches of the ground, with an enormous effort he turned it and placed it upon the sand, barely seconds after it had landed he lifted it again. His sandcastle stood proud.
That night the children sat with their parents and watched as nature took their sandcastles apart. Taylor’s father told him how the amount remaining directly corresponded with the level of happiness they would have as an adult. The pharmaceutical companies pitched stalls at the beaches exit selling various anti-depressants, as their child’s sandcastle fell the parents would rush to the stalls with huge sums of money, to stock up for the troubles ahead.
“Your mother’s castle fell instantly as a child,” Taylor’s father told him, “she hadn’t packed the sand and the wind took it before night had even begun. Mine lasted a few hours, and never completely fell, but enough was destroyed.”
Taylor’s castle never fell, it remained intact. By fourteen he regained his balance, by fifteen his muscles were almost at the same level as his classmates, by sixteen he was pretty much cured.
He never stopped shaking.

title: [RF] Oak

question: Describe Taylor's condition, as stated in the story.

answer: Taylor had a condition since he was a kid. Taylor would always shake and this proved to be a point of contention for him as his father was a mechanic who prided himself about having steady hands. Sometimes, Taylor wasn't able to put himself into bed. At thirteen, his symptoms heightened and he felt as though he had been inebriated without any of the mental occurrences. These symptoms were extremely frustrating to him and as he grew older, some symptoms were in control but he never stopped shaking.

question: Describe what kept Taylor wanting to stay alive.

answer: The one thing that kept Taylor alive was his dreams. He would dream of planting his feet firmly into soil, like an abundant oak weathering a storm, with no motions or quaking. As the storm finished and the sun shined, a snowflake would fall on Taylor's face and melt into his flesh. Then Tyler would spread his arms and he could fly like birds did.

question: How could Taylor's father help him in feeling better about himself?


split: train

text:
CHEN CHEN-HSIANG (; born 10 October 1942) is a Taiwanese politician and a retired army general. He served as the Army Commander-in-chief before retirement, and elected into the Eighth Legislative Yuan from 2012 to 2016 and has been the Vice Chairperson of Kuomintang (KMT) since 23 November 2016.[1]

Kuomintang

[Chen as a legislator of Kuomintang.]

2016 Beijing visit

Chen was part of a Kuomintang delegation which visited Beijing at the end of December 2016 to hold a dialogue with the Communist Party of China (CPC). The meeting with Taiwan Affairs Office Director Zhang Zhijun focused on exchanges between KMT and CPC officials, exchanges between young people between the two sides and protection of the people's rights and interests.[2] They attended a trade fair on 24 December 2016 to promote agricultural products and tourism from Hualien County, Hsinchu County, Kinmen County, Lienchiang County, Miaoli County, Nantou County, New Taipei City and Taitung County.[3]

[1]

[2]

[3]

title: Chen Chen-hsiang

question: When was Chen Chen-Hsiang born?

answer: Chen was born on October 10, 1942.

question: When did Chen serve as a general?

answer: Not answered.

question: Why did Chen visit Beijing in 2016?

answer: Chen visited Beijing as a part of a Kuomintang delegation that intended to hold a dialogue with the Communist Party of China.

question: What was the purpose of the trade fair on December 24, 2016?

answer: The trade fair was meant to promote agricultural products and tourism on several Taiwanese counties.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This article gives a brief description of the work of Chen Chen-Hsiang, a Taiwanese politician.


text:
Whistleblower advocates are calling on President Donald Trump to pardon former National Security Agency contractor Reality Winner, who was sentenced Thursday to over five years in prison for performing a "public service."

"I think what has been done by the Trump administration to Reality is just terrible, and it's one of the worst miscarriages of justice I've seen in a long time."
—James Risen, The InterceptWinner, who was prosecuted under the Espionage Act, accepted a plea deal that sends her to prison for 63 months for leaking to the press in 2017 information that exposed a Russian cyberattack against U.S. voting systems. It's the longest sentence ever in federal court for leaking government information to the press.

Seizing upon Trump's characterization of the sentence as "unfair," some of Winner's advocates, including her mother, responded to the president's tweet by saying he should exercise his authority to pardon her.

"I think what has been done by the Trump administration to Reality is just terrible, and it's one of the worst miscarriages of justice I've seen in a long time," said James Risen, _The Intercept_'s senior national security correspondent, to _Democracy Now!_ on Friday. "What Reality Winner did was a public service," he said.

"The disclosure of the document in this, that _The Intercept_ published, ... provided a really important wake-up call to the American people that ... Russian intelligence was hacking into the election systems of states. And the Senate Judiciary Committee, in a report earlier this year, wrote that the Homeland Security Department had failed to adequately warn state election officials about the Russian hacking threat, and said ... it was only because of press disclosures that state officials began to be alerted to the Russian threat, cyberthreat, which shows that even Congress recognizes that what Reality Winner did was a public service," Risen said.

In a statement issued Friday, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also condemned the sentence.

"Reality Winner's outrageous sentence is a clear threat to investigative journalism, freedom of information, and the public's right to know, as it could have a chilling effect on sources," said Margaux Ewen, RSF's North America bureau director.

"We are concerned that her sentence is just the beginning of an intense crackdown on whistleblowers led by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who threatened last year to stifle leaks with harsh federal punishment. Winner's sentence shows that his threats are coming to fruition," she added.

Our work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. Feel free to republish and share widely.

This is the world we live in. This is the world we cover.

Because of people like you, another world is possible. There are many battles to be won, but we will battle them together—all of us. COMMON DREAMS IS NOT YOUR NORMAL NEWS SITE. WE DON'T SURVIVE ON CLICKS. WE DON'T WANT ADVERTISING DOLLARS. WE WANT THE WORLD TO BE A BETTER PLACE. But we can't do it alone. It doesn't work that way. We need you. If you can help today—because every gift of every size matters—please do. WITHOUT YOUR SUPPORT WE SIMPLY DON'T EXIST.

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question: What was Reality Winner sentenced for?

answer: Whistleblowing.

question: Why do whistleblower advocates believe Reality Winner deserves a pardon?

answer: They believe Reality Winner performed a public service by alerting state officials to the Russian threat. Even Congress recognized Reality's actions as a public service.

question: What information did Reality Winner disclose?

answer: Reality Winner disclosed a document that detailed how Russian intelligence was hacking into state election systems.

question: What is the call to action at the end of the article?

answer: The website (Common Dreams) asks for donations.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The article is about whistleblower advocates calling for the pardon of Reality Winner, a whistleblower who was sentenced by the Trump administration after disclosing a document about Russian intelligence interference in state election systems.


text:
Online, onscreen, on CKUT community radio, via street art in your town, and with dancing! Join us from anywhere and everywhere!

This year’s Montreal Anarchist Bookfair, Sunday, May 17, 2020. Connecting ideas across distance from 10:30 a.m. to midnight EDT.

Tabling this year will be a bit different. But what would a bookfair be without books! We encourage you to “stroll around” the TABLERS 2020 on May 17. You’ll find deals and free stuff, and you can support anarchistic publishers, artists, and others struggling to survive during COVID-19. In addition, check out the Art and Anarchy call for street art on physical walls in various cities, and online workshops, talks, and chat rooms. We’ll also be hosting a film screening and rounding off the day with a special DJ set “dance” party!

To listen or join into the workshops, 11 am to 6 pm, you need to download MUMBLE, a free open-source voice chat program, where we will be hosting them: HERE IS AN EASY TO FOLLOW GUIDE! You can also listen in onCKUT’S STREAM from 11 am to 4 pm!

IF THE CKUT STREAM IS NOT WORKING – TRY THIS:

Due to the high volume of traffic it is possible that you will not be able to stream ckut.ca. If this is the case you can go toHTTP://CKUT.AIRTIME.PRO/. Click the play button at the bottom of the screen next to LIVE DJ or the name of the show
You can also listen to us on Radio Player:HTTP://RADIOPLAYER.CKUT.CA/

To watch the film, see Pom Poko. To dance via Zoom, see Beneath the Paving Stones.

We also have a public chatroom, accessible on any web browser here. It is important to note that _what is said in this chatroom is** public**_. Apart from anything else that people want to say, we’re hoping that this space can be used to request help with any problems one might experience with software or access to our event.

_Note_: As you know, this bookfair came together under difficult circumstances, and we haven’t been able to set up all of our usual practices. That said, we’re still committed to trying to make the bookfair as accessible as possible. If you’re attending a talk and would be willing to either simultaneously transcribe it for anybody who needs an alternative to audio or do simultaneous interpretation from French to English or English to French, please let us know. If you require transcription or translation for a particular workshop, please get in touch as soon as possible and we’ll do our best.

MONTREAL ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR, MAY 17, 2020, SCHEDULE

All day – Art and Anarchy – Open Chat – Tablers

11 am : L’anarchisme et le Mouvement de la Science Transparente (fr)

11:30 am :  Liberating Sápmi: Indigenous Resistance in Europe’s Far North (en)

Noon :  Conversations with Gidimt’en: Updates from the Front Lines (en)

1 pm : Mutual Aid for Survival and Freedom (en)

        2 pm : Collective Care vs. Containment (en)

3 pm : Antifascism during Pandemic (en)

4 pm : Dialed In: A Conversation with Radio Pandemic (en)

5 pm : Grief Space  (fr/en)

6:30 pm : Pom Poko (fr/en) (film)

9 pm : Beneath the Paving Stones, the Dance Floor!

[]

Call for “Art and Anarchy” across Distance

The twenty-first edition of the Montreal Anarchist Bookfair has to look radically different this year, but we’re striving for as much connection across distance as we can during our daylong gathering on Sunday, May 17, 2020. To that end, rather than our usual Art and Anarchy exhibit in the physical bookfair space, we’re calling on people to physically share anarchistic art and banners on the streets of cities across the globe. It’s a way of embodying our love and solidarity for each other, and also illustrating quite literally that we’re still here, that anarchism is still alive and well.

The idea is simple. On or before May 17:

-   Put up street art and/or a banner—your own and/or others’ creations
-   Take photos, or get a friend to do so
-   Post the photo(s) on social media, or get friends to do it, with the hashtag #ArtAndAnarchy. Include the location, as general or specific as you want
-   Share it with us at (info [at] anarchistbookfair [dot] ca), so we can then post it on our website and potentially use it, with your permission, in a post-bookfair zine

Please spread the word far and wide. It would be so beautiful to see art and anarchism spread across borders and walls around the world, bringing us closer together.

question: How do you join the CKUT stream?

answer: First you must download MUMBLE, a free open-source voice chat program. If you cannot stream it due to the high volume of traffic at ckut.ca, got to ckut.airtime.pro . You then click the play button at the bottom of the screen next to LIVE DJ or the name of the show.


text:
I don't remember the first time I met her, but it was in some kind of abstract kind of way. The colours around us were always loose and steady, mad colours that no one had ever heard of or seen.
Connie and I were both mad you see. We were both seeing psychiatrists, both once a week.

'How have you been the past week? The psychiatrist would say

'Not bad' I would always say. I would very rarely say how bad I'd been feeling.

'And what have you been up to?'

'Nothing much'

'Shall we go over what we talked about last week?'

'Yes, if you want'

Sometimes talking about things made everything worse, a lot of the time I'd come out feeling more depressed than before I came in.
It would go much the same for Connie except she would be much more honest about things.

'Have you been up to much over the past week'

'Yes, a lot' Connie would say 'I've fucked two men since I last saw you'. And the
Psychiatrist's face would be in a kind of shock for a while.

'And anything else?'

'Yes, I've also fucked two women.'

'Oh, my. All that in the last week'

'Yes'

Connie and I spoke nearly every day. We'd fall out quite often and it was usually over something that I did. Mostly not turning up to places that I'd say I was turning up to. Her brother was an alcoholic and I knew him through a friend who he lived in a flat with and he was managing the band I was in at the time. He promised us fame and glory but in the end he turned out to be liar.
Connie's parents were nice people. Her mother was an English teacher and her father was a blues musician.
When I was a gigging musician her father played with us and helped with gigs. He is a very fine musician. The last time I spoke to him he asked If I was still playing music and still with the band?

'No, not anymore' I said

'Why not?

'Musical differences'

'Yes, that happens a lot.'

It was my birthday and Connie was putting on a birthday party for me at her home. She had two kids and a now a dog. Which was a beagle named Gatsby. The first time I met Gatsby I knocked on Connie's front door and she opened it and Gatsby ran out into the road while a car was coming and I ran out into the road and saved him. He tried to bite me after it all. But after that all he does is lick me and give me affection.

The birthday party was on a Saturday. It was originally meant to be on a Monday, then a Tuesday, then a Friday and finally we settled on a Saturday. The reason for all this being a certain person could only make it on a Saturday. Her name was Caitlin and she was a beauty.
She had long dark hair and a body that danced beneath the tide. Connie and Caitlin didn't get on and Connie didn't really want Caitlin at the party but she said it was OK as it's my Birthday.
Connie thought Caitlin was jealous of her because She spent so much time with me and Caitlin was in love with me and she couldn't handle it.

'She's in deep with you, you know' Connie said

'No, she's not'

'Yes, she is. She fucking wants your babies!'

'Oh, God please. Don't be silly'

Connie was on the brink on being an alcoholic and she would say the same of me. I bought mostly whiskey for the birthday party and two crates of beer. We both drank a lot and some would say too much.
There were a few more people attending the party. Mostly girls and one boy and in the end he never turned up.
I arrived at the party at 6 in the evening. It was a sunny day with a slight wind blowing in the distance. It felt soothing on your face. There was only one other person who was there at that time, her name was lotte.

'Hello' she said

'Hey, how long have you been here?' I asked

'Oh, not long. About 20 minutes'

'I see. And what you drinking then?'

'Cider. What about you?'

'Whiskey and beer'

'Manly drinks then'

Yes, I suppose you could say that.'

Connie was busy with her kids. Giving them their supper and getting the younger one ready for bed.
I sat in a chair silently looking around the room. The TV was on. It was some children's programme.
I had my eye on a fly flying about. It flew on the window and then the curtain and then finally landed on the TV which is where it stayed for the remainder of the night. I was waiting on Caitlin mostly. I was looking forward to seeing her.

'When is Caitlin getting here?' Connie asked

'She said 8 o clock to me'

'What time is it now?'

'7:15'. I'm meeting her at the bus station at 8'

Nothing much happened in the next 45 minutes apart from some very small small talk. By then I had had about 3 bottles of beer and Lotte had drank half a bottle of cider and Connie was already drunk.

'I'm off to meet Caitlin' I said

I arrived at the bus stop on time and Caitlin had not yet arrived. It was now rather cold and the sun had gone into hiding. The breeze was cold against my face. Not long the moon was about to make an appearance. I looked up to the sky thinking about things and I felt an empty feeling inside me. I don't know why but my heart heard the dancing of the soul and could not dance to the same rhythm and I felt lost.
It was now 8:25 and Caitlin had not yet arrived. I tried to ring her and there was no answer. I looked up at the sky some more and pondered the world and after pondering the world for another 35 minutes and I gave up and went back to Connie's.

'Where's Caitlin?' Connie asked

'Don't think she's turning up'

'I'm rather glad really'

'Yes. We shall drink the wine I bought for her'

We opened the bottle of wine and drank it from the bottle.

'We're all mad here, you know' said Connie

'What do you mean? I asked

'Lotte is one of us'

'Oh, is she?'

'Yes, she is'

And Lotte smiled splendidly at the situation and became drunk rather quickly. We went into the garden as it turned dark and laughed at the stars while sitting down in the long grass.

'Yes, we're all mad here' we all said

The party was a boring one and we were all home by midnight.

title: A birthday party

question: Why don't Connie and Caitlin get on?

answer: Connie says it is because Caitlin is in love with the narrator and is therefore jealous because Connie spends too much time with the narrator.

question: Why does the narrator not speak to the psychiatrist?

answer: Sometimes talking makes the narrator depressed.

question: Why do Connie and the narrator fall out from time to time?

answer: Mostly they fight because the narrator makes arrangements and then fails to pitch up.

question: Why does the narrator say that Connie's brother is a liar?

answer: The brother promised the band fame and glory and that never happened.

question: Write a ~12 sentence summary.

answer:
Connie and the narrator are both mad. They both see psychiatrists once a week. Connie is putting up a birthday party for the narrator. They have changed the birthday date several times to accommodate Caitlin who could only make it on Saturday. Connie and the beautiful Caitlin don’t get on.

Connie says that Caitlin is in love with the narrator. Connie is on the brink of being an alcoholic and the narrator also drinks too much. Only girls come to the party. They all drink too much. Caitlin doesn’t pitch. Lotte another of the guests helps them to drink the booze. The party was boring so they were all in bed by midnight.


text:
[image]

_Kimberly Turbin (seen here with her son) has filed a lawsuit against Dr. Alex Abbassi; she alleges he gave her a forced episiotomy during labor in 2013. (Photo: Lindsay Askins at spotofserendipity.com)_

A California woman whose disturbing birth video captured her doctor giving her a forced episiotomy — causing public outcry among an army of supporters after it was posted on YouTube — has filed a lawsuit against him for assault and battery with the aid of a prominent civil-rights attorney and the advocacy organization Improving Birth.

_STORY: Woman, Doctor Go to War Over Episiotomy_

“This is a big step for women who have been silenced,” plaintiff Kimberly Turbin, of Los Angeles, said Thursday in a statement about the suit against Dr. Alex Abbassi, an obstetrician at Providence Tarzana Medical Center in California. “Every time I hear one of these stories about women being ignored when they complained about how they were treated in the hospital, it reminds me of why I’m doing this. It took a lot of people to get this far, but this is the proof that you can do something.”

The arduous journey that Turbin refers to includes filing complaints with her hospital and state medical board that she says went ignored, posting her video online for help seeking justice, and raising more than $11,000 for legal fees through a still-active online campaign. Improving Birth was among a handful of advocacy organizations that adopted her cause as a striking example of what’s increasingly termed “obstetric violence,” which can range from coerced medical interventions such as cesarean sections to simply being talked down to during labor. And after a year-and-a-half search for a lawyer in which more than 80 attorneys turn the case down, the organization eventually persuaded Mark Merin of Sacramento to take it on.

_STORY: Pregnant Doctor Shocked by C-Section Pressure_

“I do civil rights work and this is a civil rights case, and it’s pretty outrageous that she would be so treated by a physician when she clearly was not consenting to an episiotomy,” Merin tells Yahoo Parenting. “The physician acted in total disregard of the patient’s interest — either because he practices backward medicine…or because it was just heartless for some other reason.”

Dr. Abbassi did not return a call from Yahoo Parenting seeking comment on Thursday.

[image]

_Dr. Alex Abbassi, who was served with a lawsuit on Wednesday. (Photo: Providence Tarzana Medical Center)_

Turbin, 27, who chose to remain anonymous and be known only as “Kelly” when her story was reported in April, gave birth at Providence Tarzana Medical Center in 2013. When she arrived, according to both Improving Birth and a copy of the lawsuit obtained by Yahoo Parenting, she confided in the medical team that she was a two-time sexual-assault survivor, therefore requesting that nurses to be “calm and gentle” and to inform her of what was happening through every step of the birth process.

But two minutes after Abbassi, the on-call obstetrician, entered the delivery room, he told Turbin “I’m going to do the episiotomy now.” He was referring to a formerly routine, now formally discouraged practice in which an incision is made in the perineum, the region between the vagina and anus, often causing complications ranging from incontinence to sexual dysfunction.

In response to his declaration — the entire back-and-forth of which is audible in Turbin’s video (shot by her sister and edited to obscure everyone’s identity) — Turbin asked, “Why? We haven’t even tried.” The doctor then tells her, “You are pushing, baby’s head comes out and doesn’t come out because there’s no space here to come out, OK?” At this point the nurse and Kelly’s mother attempt to convince her that it’s the right decision, but still, Kelly says, “No, don’t cut me. No! Why?” The doctor responds with anger, “What do you mean ‘why?’ That’s my reason! I am the expert here, OK?” He then begins making audible snips, and doesn’t stop until he’s made 12 incisions.

Before the episiotomy, Turbin, who had been given an epidural and a sedative and placed into stirrups, had been pushing for just an hour.

“Consistent with her legal right to be informed about and consent to any proposed medical procedures, Ms. Turbin asked that the staff ask permission before touching her in any way and be gentle,” reads the official complaint, filed with the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles. “Instead, Ms. Turbin was subjected to an egregious act of obstetric violence which was recorded on video.”

The complaint also alleges, “Dr. Abbassi knew that Ms. Turbin did not consent to the episiotomy. He noted in her medical records that ‘patient refused any surgical intervention’ but that he nonetheless performed the episiotomy under local anesthesia. Ms. Turbin’s medical records do not describe the occurrence of any emergency during her labor or delivery.”

Various doctors who reviewed Turbin’s case for Improving Birth concluded that the episiotomy was not only unnecessary, but done incorrectly and too early, not allowing the perineum enough time to stretch. “Her wishes are ignored and the clearly planned episiotomy is simply justified in advance so that the professionals can do what they planned to do anyhow…. It was all about the impatience of the professionals who were not remotely interested in the values and needs of the mother,” according to a report done for Improving Birth by Dr. Michael Klein, a Vancouver-based pediatrician and neonatologist who has researched episiotomies. “They just wanted the birth expedited. This is a picture that was often routine in the past, but since the early 1980s this approach cannot be justified, if it ever was.”

Improving Birth founder Dawn Thompson served Dr. Abbassi with the lawsuit on Wednesday, and recorded a video of herself talking about how she felt immediately afterward. “He said, ‘Oh great, somebody’s suing me?’ And I said, ‘Yes, your abuse of women stops here, today,’” Thompson says, her voice full of emotion, in the video posted to YouTube and the organization’s website (and which can be seen below). “Kimberly, this is for you, I so wish you were with me. Because that was so satisfying.”

_Please follow @YahooParenting on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, andPinterest. Have an interesting story to share about your family? Email us at YParenting (at) Yahoo.com._

question: Why did Dr.Abassi think he needed to give Turbin a forced episiotomy?

answer: The only sort of direct reasoning from Abassi is that he believes himself to be an expert, and that an episiotomy was necessary because there was no space for the baby to come out. According to other sources who presume what Abassi thought, it is because he practices backwards medicine, is heartless, or because he wanted to expedite the birth.

question: What does Turbin have to gain from this lawsuit?

answer: It's possible she can gain justice for the wrongdoings against her, justice for others and potentially get money.

question: How could Turbin's lawsuit help other women?

answer: It seems it could give women a voice in situations where they may not be listened to by their obstetrician, which would protect them from potential harm or malpractice.

question: Summarize Abbassi's thoughts on the lawsuit.

answer: It's not said directly, but it's assumed that Abbassi is annoyed and displeased.

question: Why did Improving Birth step in to aid Turbin?

answer: They saw Turbin's case as an important example of obstetric violence, which is probably something they focus on in their advocacy.


text:
FREDERICK DANIEL HARDY (13 February 1827 – 1 April 1911)[1][2] was an English genre painter and member of the Cranbrook Colony of artists.

Early life

Frederick Daniel Hardy was born at Windsor in Berkshire, the third of eight children of George Hardy (1795–1877) and his wife Sarah (1803–1872). George Hardy was a horn player in the Private Band of Music of the Royal Households of George IV, Queen Adelaide and Queen Victoria. Frederick's father was also an amateur artist, taught by James Duffield Harding and Edmund Bristow. F.D. Hardy's ancestors were from Horsforth in Yorkshire; Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, First Earl of Cranbrook, was his second cousin.[3]

Frederick enrolled at the Royal Academy of Music, Hanover Square, at the age of seventeen. He studied for about three years, but finally abandoned music to become an artist like his elder brother George Hardy (1822–1909).[4]

The 1850s: early paintings of cottage interiors

Hardy soon became a skilful painter of cottage interiors, but was continually improving his figure painting throughout the 1850s. Christopher Wood, writer on Victorian Art, commented on one of Hardy's earliest paintings, _Cottage Fireside_ (1850): “Some of his early works of this kind are beautifully observed, and quite unsentimental, omitting the usual children, pets and other familiar props of the cottage idyll painters. The old kitchen... is delineated as dispassionately as a Dutch seventeenth century kitchen by Ostade or Brekelenkamp.”[5]

In 1851 Hardy had his first two pictures accepted for exhibition at the Royal Academy.[6] On 11 March 1852 he married Rebecca Sophia Dorofield (1827–1906). They lived at Snell's Wood, near Amersham in Buckinghamshire, three miles from the farm of Rebecca's parents. Their first child was born there in March 1853. By July 1853 they had moved to 2 Waterloo Place at Cranbrook, Kent, a house that Hardy kept all his life.[7]

Hardy's painting in the 1850s was influenced by the works of 17th Dutch artists, such as Pieter de Hooch and Nicolaes Maes, and by the paintings of his friend Thomas Webster. Throughout the decade Hardy gradually included a few figures into his pictures of interiors. And in 1859 he painted his first picture, _The Foreign Guest_, that has a narrative involving a larger group of people, and is similar to much of his best work in the 1860s.[8]

File:Cottage Fireside. Frederick Daniel Hardy, 1850.jpg|_Cottage Fireside_ (1850) File:The Clergyman's visit. Frederick Daniel Hardy, ca. 1854.jpg|_The Clergyman's Visit_ (ca. 1854) File:The Foreign Guest. Frederick Daniel Hardy, 1859.jpg|_The Foreign Guest_ (1859)

The 1860s and beyond

[_Baby's Birthday_ (1867)] During the 1860s Hardy painted the pictures for which he is best known, particularly paintings of children's activities such as _The Volunteers_ (1860), _Early Sorrow_ (1861), _The Sweep_ (1862), _The Young Photographers_ (1862), _The Doctor_ (1863), _The Leaky Roof_ (1865), _The Dismayed Artist_ (1866) and _Baby’s Birthday_ (1867).[9] Hardy painted at least ten versions of _The Sweep_, one of his most popular paintings.[10]

Some of his paintings from the 1870s were more critical of Victorian society. _Looking for Father_ (1873) portrays a barefoot girl looking through the glass panel of an alehouse door for her father. _After the Party_ (1875) depicts an exhausted servant who has fallen asleep, sitting on a chair, after serving at a party. And _The Wedding Dress_ (1875) portrays a group of seamstresses who have had to work through the night to finish their work.[11]

Hardy exhibited ninety-three pictures at the Royal Academy from 1851 to 1898. The sale prices of his paintings were at their peak in the 1870s; in 1877 A _Quartette Party_ (1872) and A _Wedding Breakfast_ (1871) were each sold for £798 at Christie's.[12] From the mid-1870s the Hardys maintained a house in London, at 17 Brunswick Gardens in Kensington, as well as their house in Cranbrook.[13] F.D. Hardy's work is to be found in numerous public collections, notably at the Wolverhampton Art Gallery which holds nineteen of his paintings.

Life in Cranbrook. Family

About four years after Hardy settled in Cranbrook his friend Thomas Webster, who was related to Hardy's mother, came to live there. For their studios, Hardy and Webster rented a sixteenth century house in the High Street; Hardy's studio was the front room on the ground floor and Webster's studio was the front room above. Several more artists, friends of Webster and Hardy, and Frederick's elder brother George, came to live in Cranbrook or were frequent visitors from London; they became known as the Cranbrook Colony.[14]

The Cranbrook artists and their families often met for dinners, teas and parties.[15] Hardy was involved in many activities in Cranbrook: he was an officer in the 37th Kent Rifle Volunteer Corps,[16] a Churchwarden, a Committee member of the Literary Association, a Member of the Cricket Club[17] and a participant at musical evenings in the town.[18]

Frederick and Rebecca Hardy had four sons and a daughter. Their eldest son Frederick (1853-1937), attended the Royal Academy Schools and became an artist, using the name “Dorofield Hardy”. Their fourth son, Edwin George (1859-1896), became an architect after studying at the Royal Academy Schools where he won a gold medal for design in architecture and a travelling scholarship for studies in Italy.[19] Frederick's father, George Hardy, came to live with him in 1873. George Hardy died at Cranbrook in 1877.

Frederick Daniel Hardy died at Cranbrook in April 1911 and was buried beside his wife in St Dunstan's churchyard. After Hardy's death, his daughter Amelia Gertrude Hardy (1865-1952), an amateur artist, lived in Hardy's former studio in the High Street.[20]

[1]

[2]

[3] Hardy (2016). pp. 12,13 and 198-204.

[4] Hardy (2016). p. 12.

[5]

[6]

[7] Correspondence between F.D. Hardy and Thomas Miller. Royal Academy of Arts Archive: Thomas Miller papers.

[8] Hardy (2016). p. 32.

[9] Hardy (2016). pp. 32-45.

[10] Hardy (2016). p. 207.

[11] Hardy (2016). pp. 48-53.

[12]

[13] Hardy (2016). p. 55.

[14] Hardy (2016). pp. 23-28.

[15] Diaries of Rosamund Horsley 1848-1908. Department of Special Collections, Bodleian Library, Oxford. MSS. Eng. e. 2198-253.

[16] “37th Kent Rifle Volunteer Corps”. _The London Gazette._ 6 June 1873. p. 2740.

[17] “The Cranbrook Cricket Club”. _The Maidstone Telegraph._ 24 September 1870. p. 6.

[18] Hardy (2016). pp. 61,62.

[19]

[20] Hardy (2016). p. 63.

title: Frederick Daniel Hardy

question: Summarize Hardy's relationship with Webster.

answer: Thomas Webster was a friend of Hardy's who was related to Hardy's mom. Hardy's paintings in the 1850s were influenced by Webster, also an artist. Later on, the friends ended up settling at Cranbrook together, and rented a sixteenth century house together. Many of their friends lived and visited Cranbrook, which people called the Cranbrook Colony.

question: What does the text say about the Victorian era?

answer: Hardy's paintings were of the Victorian era. His father had been a horn player for the Private Band of Music for Queen Victoria. Some of Hardy's paintings in the 187-s were critical of the Victorian society. These include "Looking for Father", "After the Party, and "The Wedding Dress". The latter two reflect exhausted workers.

question: What does the text say about Hardy's family?

answer: Frederick Daniel Hardy was one of eight children to George Hardy and Sarah. His father was an amateur artist who played the horn in the Private Band of Music of the Royal Households of George IV, Queen Adelaide, and Queen Victoria. His ancestors were from Horsforth in Yorkshire, and his second cousin was Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, the First Earl of Cranbrook. He married Rebecca Dorofield, and together they had four sons and a daughter. His son Frederick and daughter Amelia were became artists, and his son Edwin became an architect.

question: What does the text say about the worth of Hardy's paintings?


text:
*This is my first attempt at a short story. If it's well liked I'll post the other parts as we go along, but feel free to tell me any glaring errors you see etc. I'm writing this for fun, possibly something more if it comes to that but for now it's my way of unwinding. Let me know what you think, and enjoy!*

The heat of the day barreled down on the less, their brows furrowed with sweat and their skin red. Shun always found comfort in their labor, the single constant thing in the short life he’s known. Well, short by technicality. He felt as if he’d lived 5 lifetimes already, the memory chips could do that to you. His had been passed down from his mother, and her mother before that.

Shun wondered at the memories locked away in his brain, not for the first time. Why hadn’t it been his father to make the sacrifice instead of his mother? He always struggled with the issue, memories of generations of women locked away in his brain so nothing surprised him anymore. Sure he was always interested, but feeling how it felt for a woman compared to what he felt, his sexual experiences were seemingly lackluster.

The less though, they always cleared his head. What a life they must lead, a life they knew was their own with no other thoughts or feelings to confuse them. They worked, and they built, and they toiled. Working with one’s own hands always seemed like it would be fulfilling, knowing your creations and accomplishments were your own. They had it easy.

He turned back to his company, a tender young thing. Scrawny although he knew she ate well, her pale skin in contrast to his light brown. He believed her name was Devi, though you never could tell the pronunciation in a name of the less.

“Now, from the beginning, what exactly is it my father wishes of me?”
Devi stared at the floor as she spoke, “Suh, he would like them new clothes put on ye, and meet the Suh Ligue at Centah Prominance.”
Shun sighed, and not entirely from his disdain of the Ligue family.

“How long have you been with us now?”

“Li’le ove a year Suh.”

“And in all this time, you haven’t lost that atrocious speech impediment?”

She paused for a brief moment before responding. “S’not an impediment Suh, me papa used ta say it’s called a accent.”

“I know what it’s called young less, what I don’t know is why you refuse to learn proper English. It’s been the international language for 136 years now.”

“Sorry Suh, I’ll… I’ll do my best.” If it was at all possible her head bowed lower to the floor than it already had been.

Shun sighed again, this time out of guilt.

“I wasn’t reproaching you; I’ve simply been on edge ever since father announced my engagement to Sayuri. The woman is gorgeous but I’ll be damned if she isn’t the most annoying twat in all of Derio. Do they marry, in the less?”

Devi looked taken aback, as if what he asked were something outrageous. She never moved or flinched, but he could always tell in her posture.

“Suh, we marry just like the Uppers. Only difference I see between us is them chips.”

He contemplated this new information, and decided to just let it go.
“That will be all, unless father gave you anything else for me.”
She began to shuffle backwards.

“No Suh, I’m to wait for you to be ready and accompany you to Central.”

With that, she exited the room. Why would father have her accompany him?

Shun walked away from the window towards his king sized bed, freshly made by Devi herself and picked up the suit his father had bought him. It was an elaborate thing, bordering on gaudy the way he saw it; a white satin button down with lace at the wrists and a red velvet vest with black swans dancing in two stripes from shoulder to hip. The jacket itself was a prime example of everything wrong with this generation’s fashion, a black as dead as night with red velvet stars sprinkled on every inch of surface.

He quickly stuffed himself into the clothing and moved to the sink to wash his face. Looking in the mirror he noticed how disheveled his hair had become. Father would want to order him a haircut, but at least with this he had full control over. After all it was his hair. He gave it a quick comb and headed for the authentic mahogany double doors that lead to the main hall, that’s when he heard the bone numbing scream.

title: [SF] One of Many - Part One

question: Theorize as to what produced the horrible scream.

question: Explain when this story takes place.

answer: This story seems to take place in the future. The main character, Shun, has lived five lifetimes, and has had the memories of his family implanted in his brain, almost as a means of "passing down" the legacy. Furthermore, the elders had to make a "sacrifice" not elaborated on in this story in order to have their legacies passed down via implanted memories.

question: Describe the setting of this story.

answer: It seems to be set on some sort of palatial estate, with the wealthy or nobel inhabiting the structures and the poor or the "less" as they're called in this story working manually on the grounds. There is some manner of building construction and/or agricultural duties being performed by the indentured. There is clearly a class system in place, locked in by markers such as accents.

question: Explain why Devi is shocked by Shun's inquiry.

answer: Shun seems to believe that the less are so far removed from what he and his class or caste are that they don't engage in the customs his kind find normal. He regards the less as almost a different species, who works best with their hands and not their minds, and who do not form complex relationships. He asks her if the less get married, and Devi either can't believe his ignorance, his brazen attitude about prying, or both. She may also be shocked that he is engaging her in a more thorough manner, though Shun cuts it off quickly.


text:
[Law Library Stacks]

Back to Index of Legal Reports

This report surveys the apostasy laws of twenty-three countries in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia and primarily focuses on jurisdictions that make apostasy, or renouncing one’s religion, a capital offense. However, several countries that have adopted broadly-defined laws on blasphemy and insult to religion, which could potentially be used to prosecute persons for apostasy, have also been included, as well as one country that expressly prohibits extrajudicial punishment for allegations of apostasy.

Full Report, (PDF, 215KB)

-   Comparative Summary
-   Afghanistan
-   Algeria
-   Bahrain
-   Brunei
-   Egypt
-   Indonesia
-   Iran
-   Iraq
-   Jordan
-   Kuwait
-   Lebanon

-   Libya
-   Mauritania
-   Morocco
-   Oman
-   Pakistan
-   Qatar
-   Saudi Arabia
-   Sudan
-   Syria
-   Tunisia
-   United Arab Emirates
-   Yemen

I.  Comparative Summary

This report surveys the apostasy laws of twenty-three countries in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.  The survey primarily focuses on jurisdictions that make apostasy a capital offense.  However, several countries that have adopted broadly-defined laws on blasphemy and insult to religion, which could potentially be used to prosecute persons for apostasy, have also been included, as well as one country that expressly prohibits extrajudicial punishment for allegations of apostasy.

The countries surveyed that expressly make apostasy a capital offense are Afghanistan, Brunei, Mauritania, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.  However, only a small number of cases showing the application of these capital punishment laws were identified.  Only two cases were identified that resulted in conviction for religious conversion—one in Iran in 1994 and another in Sudan in 2014.  The country surveys also indicate that apostasy laws are frequently used to charge persons for acts other than conversion.  For example, in Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Yemen, individuals were charged with apostasy for their writings or comments made on social media.  Of the countries researched, it appears that Iran is the only one that has executed a person convicted of apostasy to date.

It is important to note that in many jurisdictions where apostasy is a capital offense, sentencing is conditional on the defendant’s behavior once he is charged or convicted.  For instance, in Afghanistan, Brunei, Sudan, and Yemen, a conviction for apostasy can be vacated if the defendant denounces his new faith and rejoins Islam.  In Mauritania, a person brought on charges of apostasy is given an opportunity to repent both before and after his conviction.  If the person repents after his conviction, the country’s Supreme Court can dramatically reduce his sentence.

In some places, such as Saudi Arabia, the criminalization of apostasy is a result of the wholesale adoption of Sharia’a (Islamic law).  In most of the countries that make apostasy a capital offense the crime is made part of the countries’ penal code either directly or by reference.  For instance, the offense is part of Mauritania’s 1983 Criminal Code, the United Arab Emirates’ Penal Code of 1987, Sudan’s Penal Code of 1991, Yemen’s Penal Code of 1994, Qatar’s 2004 Penal Law, and Brunei’s 2013 Criminal Code (however, in Brunei the provision on apostasy is not yet in force).  Afghanistan and Qatar have incorporated the crime of apostasy into their criminal laws by reference to what are known as the _hudud_ offenses.

The debate regarding the criminalization of apostasy appears to be ongoing in some of the surveyed countries.  In Pakistan, a draft bill making apostasy by men a capital offense was proposed in 2007, but was not adopted.  Similarly, in Iran a draft Penal Code containing a provision on apostasy was initially adopted by the country’s Parliament in 2008, but ultimately rejected.

In some of the countries surveyed there is less clarity as to the status of apostasy as a crime.  In Morocco, the Penal Code does not criminalize apostasy; however, the country’s Supreme Council of Religious Scholars, the sole entity with constitutional authority to issue religious decrees, recently (in April 2013) decreed that apostasy is a capital offense.  The legal status of this decree remains unclear.  Although there is no statutory law criminalizing apostasy in Pakistan, some scholars believe that this gap could be filled by Sharia’a, which makes apostasy a capital offense.

In other countries, where formal laws do not criminalize apostasy, religious laws are used to prosecute persons for apostasy.  Although Iran’s current Penal Code does not criminalize it, courts have prosecuted individuals for apostasy based on their understanding of Sharia’a and legal opinions issued by religious leaders.  In Jordan, where the Penal Code does not include specific provisions on apostasy, it is prosecuted in religious courts, including at the request of any member of the community.

In many of the jurisdictions surveyed, both those that impose criminal penalties for apostasy and those that do not, a finding of apostasy may have consequences related to matters of inheritance and the validity of the marital relationship of the individual concerned.  For example, under Sharia’a, a Muslim spouse who converts to any other religion may not inherent from his/her Muslim relatives or spouse.  Where a Muslim husband converts to another religion, his marriage is considered annulled under Islamic law.

Of the surveyed jurisdictions that do not expressly criminalize apostasy, many have laws that include broadly-worded provisions on insulting Islam or its Prophet and blasphemy, which could potentially be used to prosecute persons for apostasy.  This category of countries includes Algeria, Bahrain, Indonesia, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, and Syria.  However, of the countries surveyed, Egypt is the only country known to have prosecuted apostasy in this manner.  In 2007, a person who converted to Christianity was convicted under the country’s blasphemy laws.

Although this aspect of the issue was not explored in detail in this report, researchers identified instances of extrajudicial punishment for apostasy.  The surveys for Iran and Syria note that extrajudicial killings on the basis of allegations of apostasy have taken place in both countries at least once.  Similarly, in Mauritania, where a journalist was arrested for apostasy in early 2014 for comments he published online, a local businessman offered a bounty to anyone who would kill the defendant.

Of the surveyed jurisdictions, Tunisia appears to be the only country that expressly prohibits extrajudicial punishment of individuals based on allegations of apostasy.

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II. Country Surveys

Afghanistan

Under the Hanafi interpretation of Islamic law, as applied in Afghanistan, the crime of apostasy constitutes a _hudud_crime, a class of crimes that stipulates fixed punishments.  Article 1 of the 1976 Afghan Penal Code states that _hudud_ crimes must be punished in accordance with provisions of uncodified Islamic religious law as applied by Hanafi religious jurisprudence.[1]  Similarly, article 130 of the Afghan Constitution states that while processing a case, courts must apply provisions of Hanafi jurisprudence if there is no provision in the Constitution or other laws regarding a specific case.[2]  Prevailing Hanafi jurisprudence, as applied in Afghanistan, prescribes the death penalty for the crime of apostasy.[3]  A person charged with apostasy can avoid prosecution and/or punishment if he recants.[4]

Convictions for apostasy could have wide-ranging consequences.  Apostasy is considered a serious offense and persons so charged may “possibly face death by stoning, deprivation of all property and possessions, and/or the invalidation of their marriages.”[5]  However, it appears that prosecutions are rare.  For instance, a Christian convert, Abdul Rahman, was accused of apostasy in 2006 but was apparently acquitted on a “technicality about his mental condition.”[6]  In late March 2006, he was granted asylum in Italy despite opposition to his release from the Afghan Parliament and members of the Muslim clergy in Afghanistan.[7]  In 2011, Christian converts Said Musa and Shoaib Assadullah, who had been arrested for apostasy and faced potential death sentences, were released, reportedly as a result of international attention and diplomatic pressure.[8]

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Algeria

Algerian law does not include a criminal offense of apostasy.[9]  Offenses related to religion include article 144 bis(2) of the Penal Code, which provides that any individual who insults the prophet and the messengers of God, or denigrates the creed or prophets of Islam through writing, drawing, declaration, or any other means, will receive three to five years in prison, and/or be subject to a fine of between 50,000 and 100,000 Algerian dinars (approximately US$631 to $1263).[10] In addition, although Algeria permits religious organizations to participate in humanitarian works, it makes proselytizing by non-Muslims an offense punishable by a fine and up to five years’ imprisonment.[11]

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Bahrain

Article 309 of the Bahrain Penal Code of 1976 penalizes individuals who insult any religious sects with a term of imprisonment not exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding one hundred Bahraini dinars (approximately US$265).[12]

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Brunei

Section 112(1) of the recently enacted Syariah (Sharia’a) Penal Code[13] of Brunei stipulates that a Muslim who declares himself non-Muslim is punishable with death, or with imprisonment for a term not exceeding thirty years and corporal punishment, depending on the type of evidence.  If a Sharia’a Court is satisfied that the accused has repented, the Court must order an acquittal.[14]  The Law was published in Brunei’s official gazette on October 22, 2013, and will come into effect through a phased process.  It appears that the death penalty for apostasy will be applied when the third phase of the Law goes into effect.[15]  Corporal punishment will be applied twelve months after the Syariah Courts Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) is published in the gazette, and capital punishment will be applied twenty-four months after the CPC is published.[16]

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Egypt

While Egypt does not have a statutory ban on apostasy, article 98(f) of Egypt’s Penal Code, as amended by Law 147/2006, states that “whoever makes use of religion in propagating, either by words, in writing, or in any other means, extreme ideas for the purpose of inciting strife, ridiculing or insulting a heavenly religion or a sect following it, or damaging national unity” is punishable with six months to five years’ imprisonment, and/or a fine of five hundred to one thousand Egyptian pounds (approximately US$71 to $142).[17]

Concerning the prosecution of apostasy cases, in 1996, the Egyptian Court of Cassation reportedly ruled that the writings of Muslim scholar Nasr Abu Zayd were an act of apostasy.  Accordingly, based on the Court’s decision, his marriage was declared void.[18]  In addition, news reports indicate that in May 2007, Bahaa El-Din El-Akkad, a former Egyptian Muslim and member of Tabligh and Daawa (an organization to spread Islam), was imprisoned for two years under the charge of “blasphemy against Islam” after converting to Christianity.[19]

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Indonesia

Indonesia does not have a law specifically devoted to apostasy, but punishment for acts of blasphemy is prescribed in article 156(a) of the Penal Code.  The Code imposes a penalty of up to five years’ imprisonment for expressions or actions in public that have “the character of being at enmity with, abusing or staining a religion, adhered to in Indonesia” or are committed “with the intention to prevent a person to adhere [sic] to any religion based on the belief of the almighty God.”[20]

Either the Penal Code or a 1965 Presidential Decision on blasphemy could be used to prosecute someone for renouncing his or her religion.[21]  This Decision specifically forbids

  every individual . . . in public from intentionally conveying, endorsing or attempting to gain public support in the interpretation of a certain religion embraced by the people of Indonesia or undertaking religious based activities that resemble the religious activities of the religion in question, where such interpretation and activities are in deviation of the basic teachings of the religion.[22]

This law, which recognizes six official religions (Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism), allows the government to ban groups and prosecute people who “distort” any of these religions.[23]  Violation of this law carries a maximum penalty of five years of imprisonment.[24]  The 1965 blasphemy law was upheld by the country’s Constitutional Court in 2010, with the Court holding that “the government maintains the power to impose limitations on religious freedoms based up on security considerations.”[25]

In addition to the blasphemy laws, Indonesia also has in place a targeted ban on proselytizing.  In 2008, the government issued a ministerial decree specifically banning the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community from proselytizing.[26]

Reports indicate an increase in the application of blasphemy laws in Indonesia in recent years.  While close to 40 individuals have been convicted on blasphemy charges since 1965, over half of the convictions were after 2009 with four convictions in 2011 and ten in 2012.[27]

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Iran

Iran’s current Penal Code, which was approved by the country’s Guardian Council on January 18, 2012,[28] does not include provisions criminalizing apostasy.  However, a draft form of the Code containing several provisions on apostasy had been approved by the Iranian Parliament in principal on September 9, 2008, but was not subsequently adopted.[29]  While Iranian law does not provide for the death penalty for apostasy, the courts can hand down that punishment, and have done so in previous years, based on their interpretation of Sharia’a law and _fatwas_ (legal opinions or decrees issued by Islamic religious leaders).[30]

In September 2012, Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was acquitted of charges of apostasy brought against him in 2010 that carried the death sentence.  Nadarkhani was instead convicted of evangelizing Muslims and given a three-year sentence.[31]  Reportedly, the last convert to Christianity in Iran to be judicially convicted of apostasy and sentenced to death was Mehdi Dibaj in 1994, although the sentence was not carried out.[32]  The European Centre for Law and Justice has pointed out, however, that “this absence of recent punishment does not mean that there was no execution of converts, within or outside the judicial system.  For example, Mehdi Dibaj and other Protestant pastors have been brutally murdered outside of the court system.”[33]

According to the US Department of State, the last death penalty for apostasy that was actually carried out occurred in 1990.[34]  The US Department of State pointed out in a report issued in 2009 that the death penalty can be imposed on the basis of ambiguous charges, such as “‘attempts against the security of the state,’ ‘outrage against high-ranking officials,’ and ‘insults against the memory of Imam Khomeini and against the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic,’” and that

  although there were few details, the government arrested, convicted, and executed persons on questionable criminal charges, including drug trafficking, when their actual “offenses” were political.  The government charged members of religious minorities with crimes such as “confronting the regime” and apostasy, and conducted trials in these cases in the same manner as it would treat threats to national security.[35]

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Iraq

Article 372 of Iraq’s Penal Code of 1969 provides that any individual who insults the creed of a religious sect or its practices, or publicly insults a symbol or person that is an object of sanctification, worship, or reverence for a religious sect, may be punished with a term of imprisonment not exceeding three years or a fine not exceeding 300 Iraqi dinars (approximately US$0.25).[36]

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Jordan

While there is no express statutory prohibition on apostasy, conversion trials are heard by Islamic courts and may be instituted by any member of the community.[37]  According to Islamic law, there are consequences when Muslims adopt religions other than Islam.  For instance, if someone is convicted of apostasy, the Islamic courts adjudicating matters of personal status have the power to void the person’s marriage and deny his/her right to inherit from a spouse and from Muslim relatives.[38]

A person could also be subjected to accusations of apostasy with all its consequences for activities other than conversion.  In one reported case from 2010, Jordanian poet Islam Samhan was accused of apostasy for poems he wrote.[39]

In addition, Jordan explicitly criminalizes blasphemy.  Article 273 of Jordan’s Penal Code of 1960 punishes any individual who insults the Prophet Mohamed with a term of imprisonment of one to three years.[40]

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Kuwait

According to Law 51 of 1984 on Personal Status, which is based on Islamic Sharia’a, under article 18, the marriage of a non-Muslim man to a Muslim woman is considered annulled. Article 145 of the aforementioned law applies such legal and religious principle to Muslim husbands that might adopt other religions than Islam during the marital relationship. Moreover, under article 294 of this law, an apostate is not able to inherent from his Muslim relatives or marital spouse.[41]

Kuwait also has laws that could be used to punish individuals who are accused of blasphemy.  Law 19 of 2012 on National Unity was issued to amend article 111 of the Penal Code by imposing harsher penalties and criminalizing any publications and broadcasting content that could be considered offensive to religious “sects” or groups, including through social media.  The new law punishes such crimes with a fine ranging from US$36,000 to US$720,000 and a maximum of seven years in prison. [42]

Like its apostasy laws, the country’s laws on blasphemy permit anyone to file criminal charges against an author of any material that the person believes to be defamatory to a religious group.[43]

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Lebanon

The Lebanese Penal Code punishes individuals who perform acts that are considered blasphemous to the name of God.[44]  It also imposes penalties against individuals who publicly insult the religious proceedings of any religion.[45]

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Libya

While Libyan law does not expressly criminalize apostasy, there is a legal instrument that bans blasphemy.  Article 291 (Insult of the State Religion) of Libya’s Penal Code of 1953 provides as follows:

  Whoever publicly abuses the Islamic religion—that being the official religion of the State under the Libyan Constitution—with verbal terms not befitting for the Divine Being, the Messenger, or the Prophets, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.[46]

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Mauritania

Apostasy is punished under article 306 of the Mauritanian Criminal Code.[47]  This article provides that “[a]ny Muslim guilty of the crime of apostasy” is to be given the opportunity to repent within three days.  If the accused does not repent within that period, he/she is to be sentenced to death, and all of his/her property shall be confiscated by the government.[48]  It appears that article 306 of the Criminal Code also provides that if a person who has been sentenced to death for apostasy repents before his/her execution, the Mauritanian Supreme Court can commute his/her death sentence to a jail sentence of between three months and two years, and a fine of UM5,000–60,000 (approximately US$17–$203).[49]

A young Mauritanian journalist was arrested for apostasy on January 2, 2014, for having posted a text online that was seen as blasphemous.[50]  This case has generated a public outcry.  Protesters called for the man’s execution, a local businessman declared that he was willing to pay a reward to anyone who killed the journalist,[51] and even the National Human Rights Commission of Mauritania condemned the writings that triggered the arrest.[52]

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Morocco

Morocco does not impose the death penalty against apostates under the provisions of its Penal Code.  However, in April 2013, the Supreme Council of Religious Scholars issued a religious decree (_fatwa_) that Moroccan Muslims who leave Islam must be sentenced to death.[53]  Religious decrees are significant because Islam is the official state religion under article 3 of the Moroccan Constitution of 2011.[54]  Additionally, under article 41 of the Constitution, the Supreme Council of Religious Scholars “is the sole instance enabled [_habilitée_] to comment [_prononcer_] on religious consultations (Fatwas).”[55]

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Oman

Oman has a legal instrument that could be used to punish both blasphemy and apostasy.  Article 209 of Oman’s Penal Code punishes with a term of imprisonment of between ten days and three years, or a fine between five to five hundred Omani Riyals (approximately US$13 to $1,300) an individual who commits the following acts: (1) publicly blasphemes God or the prophet Mohamed, (2) commits an affront to religions and faiths by spoken or written word, or (3) breaches the peace of a lawful religious gathering.[56]

Under Law 32 of 1997 on Personal Status, rules of Islamic Sharia’a on matters concerning inheritance and the validity of the marriage of a non-Muslim spouse apply.[57]

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Pakistan

There is no specific statutory law that criminalizes apostasy in Pakistan.  In 2007, a bill to impose the death penalty for apostasy for males and life imprisonment for females was proposed in Parliament but failed to pass.[58]  Nevertheless, some scholars believe that the principle that “a lacuna in the statute law was to be filled with reference to Islamic law”[59] could potentially apply to the crime of apostasy.

Although no examples of anyone actually being criminally prosecuted for apostasy were found, conversion is not without consequence.  It has been reported that if a married Muslim couple converts to another religion, the couple’s children become illegitimate and may become wards of the State.[60]  In addition, according to one report, though it is theoretically possible to change one’s religion from Islam, in practice, the state attempts to hinder the process.[61]  Converts from Islam and atheists may also be vulnerable to Pakistan’s blasphemy law, which prescribes life imprisonment for desecrating or defiling the Quran and the death sentence to anyone for using derogatory remarks towards the Prophet Mohamed.[62]  In 1990, a Christian convert who was accused of insulting the Prophet was denied bail by a Sessions Court and an Appeals Division of the Lahore High Court on the basis that his conversion from Islam to Christianity was a cognizable offense, even though there was no such specific offense in Pakistan’s Penal Code.[63]

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Qatar

Qatar’s Law 11 of 2004 incorporates the traditional punishments of Islamic law for various offenses, including apostasy.  Article 1 of the Law states that

  the provisions of Islamic law for the following offenses are applied if the defendant or victim is a Muslim:

    1.  The _hudud _offenses related to theft, banditry, adultery, defamation, alcohol consumption, and apostasy.
    2.  The offenses of retaliation (_qisas_) and blood money (_diyah_).[64]

While apostasy is one of the offenses subject to the death penalty, Qatar has not imposed any penalty for this offense since its independence in 1971.[65]

Qatar also criminalizes proselytizing. Under article 257, any individual who establishes an organization to proselytize may be punished with a term of imprisonment of up to seven years.[66]

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Saudi Arabia

Islamic Sharia’a is the law of the land in Saudi Arabia.  The country has no penal code.  One of the main sources of Islamic law is the _hadith_ or ascribed sayings of the Prophet Mohamed.  Islamic law imposes the death penalty on apostates based on the following statements attributed to the Prophet Mohamed in some _hadith_ collections:

  (1)  “If somebody (a Muslim) discards his religion, kill him[,]”[67] and
  (2)  “The blood of a Muslim who confesses that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that I am His Apostle, cannot be shed except in three cases: In Qisas for murder, a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse and the one who reverts from Islam and leaves the Muslims.”[68]

It appears that apostasy is understood to be more than mere conversion and the law against it is actively enforced.  For instance, in 2012 Saudi authorities charged Hamza Kashgari, a Saudi writer, with apostasy based on comments he made on Twitter expressing his personal religious views.[69]  Although he initially fled the country, he was detained in Malaysia and extradited to Saudi Arabia where, after having repented, he was placed in protective custody.[70]  In another incident, Saudi authorities detained two men and charged them with apostasy for adopting the Ahmadiyya interpretation of Islam.[71]

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Sudan

Article 126 of the Sudanese Penal Code, on apostasy, provides that any Muslim who declares publicly that he/she has adopted any religion other than Islam commits the crime of apostasy and is punishable with the death penalty.  However, the provision waives the death penalty if the convicted person reconverts to Islam.[72]

The ban on apostasy, an offense subject to private prosecution, appears to be actively enforced.  In a recent case,a First Instance Court in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, convicted a Christian woman, Meriam Ibrahim, against whom apostasy charges were filed by her own family members, of adultery and apostasy.  She was sentenced to one hundred lashes and the death by hanging.[73]  The Court then suspended the implementation of the verdict for two years so that Ibrahim, who was pregnant at the time, could give birth and nurse her child for two years.[74]  However, on May 31, 2014, it was reported that the Sudanese authorities, following intense international pressure, agreed to free Ibrahim.[75]

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Syria

Syria’s Penal Code provides in article 462 that individuals who publicly defame religious proceedings are punishable with a term of two years’ imprisonment.[76]

Islamist extremist groups in Syria have applied extrajudicial penalties against individuals who are accused of apostasy.  For instance, in November 2013, an al Qaeda-linked group (The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant) executed a man after accusing him of apostasy and insulting God.[77]

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Tunisia

Tunisia not only eschews the death penalty for apostasy, but in article 6 of the Tunisian Constitution of 2014 also protects its citizens by preventing any attacks against them based on accusations of apostasy.[78]

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United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates criminalizes apostasy through the incorporation of the concept of _hudud_ crimes under Islamic Sharia’a into its Penal Code.  Those crimes include adultery, apostasy, murder, theft, highway robbery that involves killing, and a false accusation of committing adultery.  Article 1 of the Penal Code provides that Islamic law applies to _hudud_ crimes, the acceptance of blood money, and homicide.[79]  In addition, article 66 states that among the “original punishments” under the law are the punishments of _hudud_ crimes, including by imposing the death penalty.[80]  However, “there have been no known prosecutions or legal punishments for apostasy in court.”[81]

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Yemen

The crime of apostasy may be subject to the death penalty by virtue of article 12 of the Yemen Penal Code of 1994, as amended by Law 24 of 2006, which identifies crimes, including apostasy, that are punished according to the provisions of Islamic Sharia’a.[82]  Furthermore, article 259 provides that individuals committing the act of apostasy may be punished with the death penalty.[83]  It also waives the punishment for apostasy if the individual repents and returns to Islam and denounces his new faith.

Anti-apostasy laws are enforced.  In November 2012, Yemeni citizen Ali Qasim Al-Saeedi was arrested by the authorities and charged with apostasy for posting articles and research on his personal Facebook account that questioned the teachings of the Quran.[84]  However, it has been reported that Yemen does not enforce the death penalty for apostasy.[85]

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Global Legal Research Directorate
and
Hanibal Goitom
Foreign Legal Specialist and Coordinator
May 2014

------------------------------------------------------------------------

[5] _Id._

[10] Law 15-66 of 1966, 8 June 1966, available on the official website of the Algerian Presidency of the Republic, http://www.joradp.dz/TRV/APenal.pdf (in Arabic).

[11] Law No. 02-06 (bis), _al Jarida al Rasmiyya_, vol.12, 1 March 2006.

[14] _Id._ § 117.

[24] _Id._

[26] _Id._ at 3.

[27] _Id_. at 8.

[32] European Centre for Law and Justice, _supra_ note 30 (citing _Iran: Death Penalty Proposed for ‘Apostates,’_ Compass Direct News (Feb. 8, 2008), https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/2008/02-February/newsarticle_ 5231.html/, which noted that the sentence was dropped and Dibaj released because of international pressure, _and_ U.S. Department of State, International Religious Freedom Report 2008: Iran § II, Legal/Policy Framework (Sept. 19, 2008),http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108482.htm, which stated that there were “no reported cases of the death penalty being applied for apostasy during the reporting period [2008].”).

[33] European Centre for Law and Justice, _supra_ note 30, citing to _Iran: Death Penalty Proposed for ‘Apostates._’

[37] _Id_.  According to a report by a law firm in Jordan, the concept of penalizing apostasy was confirmed by a decision of the Jordan Cassation Court in Case No. 3574/2005.   The principle that an apostasy case can be filed before the Sharia’a Court by any Muslim person against individuals who might be suspected of committing acts of apostasy was verified by a decision issued by the Sharia’a Court on June 30, 1997, in Case No. 1136/43107.  Tarik Arida, _Apostate from Islam in Jordan_, Arida Law Firm, _available at_ http://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=22836 (last visited May 27, 2014).

[38] _Id._

[40] Law 16 of 1960, _al Jarida al Rasmiyya_, vol. 1487, 1 January 1960, p. 374.

[42] Law 19 of 2012, _al Jarida al Rasmiyya_, vol. 1102, 21 October 2012, _available at_ http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2269659&language=ar (in Arabic).

[43] _Id._

[45] _Id_. art. 274.

[47] Ordonnance 83-162 du 9 juillet 1983 portant institution d’un Code Pénal (Ordinance 83-162 of July 9, 1983, Establishing a Criminal Code) (July 9, 1983), art. 306, Journal Officiel de la République Islamique de Mauritanie [Official Gazette of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania], Feb. 29, 1984, _available at_ http://www.droit-afrique.com/images/textes/ Mauritanie/Mauritanie%20-%20Code%20penal.pdf.

[48] _Id._ (translation by author).

[49] _Id._

[51] _Id._

[52] Communiqué from Irabiha Abdel Wedoud, Présidente de la Commission Nationale des Droits de l’Homme [CNDH] Mauritanie [President of the National Human Rights Commission of Mauritania], Communiqué de la CNDH sur les propos blasphématoires tenus à l’encontre du prophète (PSL) [Communiqué of the CNDH on the Blasphemous Remarks Made Against the Prophet (PBUH)] (Jan. 7, 2014), _available at_ http://www.cridem.org/C_ Info.php?article=651667.

[54] Moroccan Constitution of 2011, unofficial English translation _in_ World Constitutions Illustrated: Morocco (Jefri Jay Ruchti ed. & trans., 2011), _available at_ http://www.constitutionnet.org/files/morocco_eng.pdf.

[55] _Id_. art. 41 (wording per _World Constitutions_ translation).

[57] Law 32 of 1997, _al Jarida al Rasmiyya,_ vol. 601, 4 June 1997.

[59] Martin Lau, The Role of Islam in the Legal System of Pakistan 137 (2006).

[61] Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, _Pakistan: Religious Conversion, Including Treatment of Converts and Forced Conversions (2009-2012)_ (Jan. 14, 2013), available on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) portal, _at_ http://www.refworld.org/docid/510f8b832.html.

[62] “Offences relating to religion” are provisioned under sections 295–298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code Act No. XLV of 1860, _available at_ http://www.refworld.org/docid/485231942.html.

[66] Law 11-2004, art. 257.

[73] _Death Penalty Against a Sudanese Woman for Adopting Christianity_, Elaph (May 15, 2014), http://www.elaph. com/Web/News/2014/5/904435.html (in Arabic); Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan, Washington D.C., The Case of Mariam Is neither Religious Nor Political, It is Legal 1 (May 21, 2014) (copy with GLRC staff).

[75] _Id._

[80] _Id_. art. 66.

[83] _Id_. art. 259.

question: Why is apostasy taken so seriously by countries that are founded on Islamic doctrine?

answer: Though not entirely made clear by the article, it appears as though te laws are kept in place in order to decrease defiance and freedom of religion which go against Sharia law.

question: Are laws across Islamic countries all the same?

answer: No, the different countries mentioned into this article have a variety of stances on the topic from it being a death penalty offence to it simply meaning the removal of legal rights.

question: Which country listed, has the strictest policy on apostasy?

answer: It would appear that Sudan has had a history of controversy for sentencing an expectant mother to death for converting to Christianity. After pressure from international governments the woman was later released.

question: What is the difference between apostasy and blasphemy?

answer: Apostasy is rejecting one religion in favor of another, whereas blasphemy is negatively speaking about a religion or the things (idols, prophets etc) attached to it.