Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-09-05-Speech-4-125"
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"en.20020905.9.4-125"2
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"Mr President, I have read up the case of Ms Amina Lawal and checked it out with Amnesty International, which I would like to thank for the assistance it gave, as also the staff of my own group who confirmed the facts that had been published.
I looked into these facts and the first thing that strikes us about this case is the cruel and unusual punishment that is involved. Above all, we have to look at the unfairness of the decision that was taken in imposing a punishment on the female partner in the name of some kind of religious belief. This is not religious justice; this is a purely political policy by which men in many parts of the world, in the past and still today, maintain their control and domination over the weaker sex.
The second hurtful aspect of this case is the absolute and wanton cruelty involved. It violates every instinct in mankind that prompts us to work for a world that can be shared in peace and enjoyment by us all.
Above all, this case reminds us of the barbarous days when witches were burned, as somebody pointed out earlier, and when human beings were sacrificed to satisfy an unseen, unknown and uncaring deity. There are many people in this world who recognise many different visions and manifestations of their god or gods. There are many people who recognise no god whatsoever. This does not prevent us from sharing and enjoying the same world together. But if some people believe that on behalf of their god, they can take it upon themselves to punish and persecute their fellow men because they follow a different religion or do not have any religious beliefs, then mankind cannot co-exist in peace in this world.
That is why we in this Parliament must make it clear that only democratic institutions have the right to make laws and impose humane punishment on other human beings and that the code of the United Nations will be upheld by the European Union at all costs."@en1
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