BEIRUT: State Prosecutor Judge Samir Hammoud has appealed the five-year sentence handed down to Mohammad al-Nhaily, who beat his wife Manal Assi to death in 2014.
On July 14, the criminal court gave Nhaily a mitigated sentence based on Article 252 of the Penal Code, which allows for reduced punishment if a crime occurred as a result of extreme outrage caused by “dangerous and wrongful action committed by the victim.”
Hammoud rejected this argument, saying that the criminal court misinterpreted and wrongfully implemented Article 252.
Nhaily was found guilty of bludgeoning Assi to death with a pressure cooker and sentenced to five years in prison. Given Lebanon’s nine-month judicial year and accounting for time served, he was set to be released in little over a year.
“Our view is that the state prosecution of Cassation, which is an authority that should not be underestimated, saw that the criminal court made a mistake in explaining and implementing the law,” Leila Awada, a lawyer with KAFA (Enough) Violence & Exploitation, told The Daily Star.
“The State Prosecution of Cassation, headed by Judge Hammoud, will present a request to appeal the ruling to the Court of Cassation,” Awada explained.
Although the state prosecutor has appealed the case, the Court of Cassation will still have to decide whether to overturn the original sentence or leave it in place.
“It will look again into the case ... and it will decide whether to accept the criminal court’s sentence or issue a new one.”
Hammoud has called for Nhaily to be sentenced under Paragraph 4 of Penal Code Article 549, which stipulates the death penalty for those convicted of murder in cases of where torture or extreme violence is used. Hammoud argued that this applied to Nhaily when read together with Article 189, which states that homicide can be considered deliberate regardless of the perpetrator’s intention, if one could foresee the action as potentially fatal and accepted the risk anyway.
He called on the Court of Cassation to accept the appeal, emphasizing it had been presented before the Sept. 14 deadline.
The State Prosecution of Cassation has two months from the date of sentencing to appeal. The State Prosecution of Appeal, a lower authority, has one.
In Assi’s case, the State Prosecution of Appeal opted not to appeal the criminal court’s sentence, prompting women’s organizations to protest last week in the hope of pressuring the State Prosecution of Cassation to take action.
On July 14, the criminal court gave Nhaily a mitigated sentence based on Article 252 of the Penal Code, which allows for reduced punishment if a crime occurred as a result of extreme outrage caused by “dangerous and wrongful action committed by the victim.”
Hammoud rejected this argument, saying that the criminal court misinterpreted and wrongfully implemented Article 252.
Nhaily was found guilty of bludgeoning Assi to death with a pressure cooker and sentenced to five years in prison. Given Lebanon’s nine-month judicial year and accounting for time served, he was set to be released in little over a year.
“Our view is that the state prosecution of Cassation, which is an authority that should not be underestimated, saw that the criminal court made a mistake in explaining and implementing the law,” Leila Awada, a lawyer with KAFA (Enough) Violence & Exploitation, told The Daily Star.
“The State Prosecution of Cassation, headed by Judge Hammoud, will present a request to appeal the ruling to the Court of Cassation,” Awada explained.
Although the state prosecutor has appealed the case, the Court of Cassation will still have to decide whether to overturn the original sentence or leave it in place.
“It will look again into the case ... and it will decide whether to accept the criminal court’s sentence or issue a new one.”
Hammoud has called for Nhaily to be sentenced under Paragraph 4 of Penal Code Article 549, which stipulates the death penalty for those convicted of murder in cases of where torture or extreme violence is used. Hammoud argued that this applied to Nhaily when read together with Article 189, which states that homicide can be considered deliberate regardless of the perpetrator’s intention, if one could foresee the action as potentially fatal and accepted the risk anyway.
He called on the Court of Cassation to accept the appeal, emphasizing it had been presented before the Sept. 14 deadline.
The State Prosecution of Cassation has two months from the date of sentencing to appeal. The State Prosecution of Appeal, a lower authority, has one.
In Assi’s case, the State Prosecution of Appeal opted not to appeal the criminal court’s sentence, prompting women’s organizations to protest last week in the hope of pressuring the State Prosecution of Cassation to take action.
Source & Link : The Daily Star
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