Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts with the label Expatriates

Lebanon upholds death sentence for killer of British woman

BEIRUT (AP) — A Lebanese court has upheld the death sentence for an Uber driver convicted of killing a British woman who worked for the U.K. Embassy in Beirut five years ago, the embassy said Friday. According to a statement from the embassy, Lebanon’s Court of Cassation rejected an appeal by Tariq Houshieh in the case and affirmed his guilty conviction in the killing of Rebecca Dykes. Dykes, who worked for the Department for International Development, was found dead on Dec. 16, 2017, on the side of a road, strangled and showing signs of sexual assault. Houshieh was arrested days later. The murder shook the expat community in Beirut, where such crimes are rare and where foreigners generally feel safe. “We hope this verdict will bring some closure for Becky’s family, for the many around the world who loved Becky, and for all those whose lives she touched through her humanitarian work in Lebanon and elsewhere,” the embassy said. Dykes' family, in a separate statement carried by Leban...

UAE scraps 'honour' defence as part of sweeping reform of legal system

Gulf state also lifts a ban on unmarried couples living together and eases restrictions on alcohol consumption, while raising the penalties for rape and sexual harassment The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has scrapped reduced sentences for so-called "honour" killings in a sweeping overhaul of criminal and family law announced on Saturday.  The Gulf state also lifted a ban on unmarried couples living together and eased restrictions on alcohol consumption, while raising the penalties for rape and sexual harassment. The legal systems of many Arab countries provide for reduced penalties for "honour" crimes, victims of which are mostly women, seen as having brought "dishonour" on their families.  But in the UAE, "honour" crimes will now be punishable like any other.  There will no longer be separate sentencing guidelines for "honour" killings, which previously provided for jail terms of between three and 15 years, according to Emirati media. Th...