WUNRN
BANGLADESH - GIRL 14 LASHED IN PUBLIC - LATER DIES
MORALITY ISSUE. PUNISHMENT UNDER ISLAMIC SHARIA LAW
By Anbarasan Ethirajan - BBC News,
2 February 2011
A crowd gathered outside the teenager's house after news of her death emerged
Four people including a Muslim cleric
have been arrested in
The teenager was accused of having an affair with a married man, police say, and the punishment was given under Islamic Sharia law.
Hena Begum's family members said a village court consisting of elders and clerics passed the sentence.
She was alleged to have had the affair with her cousin and received 80 lashes.
Punishment received
The family members of the married man also allegedly beat the girl up a day before the village court passed the sentence in the district of Shariatpur.
Hena Begum died after being taken to hospital
"Her family members said she was admitted to a hospital after the incident and she died six days later. The village elders also asked the girl's father to pay a fine of about 50,000 Taka (£430; $700)," district superintendent of police, AKM Shahidur Rahman, told the BBC.
He said it had not been established yet whether she died because of the punishment she received or another reason.
"We are still waiting for the post-mortem report. In the meantime, we are also looking for another 14 people including a teacher from a local madrassa in connection with this case," Mr Rahman said.
Activists say dozens of fatwas - or
religious rulings - are issued under Sharia law each year by village clergy in
"What sort of justice is this? My daughter has been beaten to death in the name of justice. If it had been a proper court then my daughter would not have died," Dorbesh Khan, the father of Hena Begum, told the BBC.
He said those responsible for the death
should be punished.
A group of people held a rally on
Wednesday in the town of
This is the second reported fatality linked to a Sharia law punishment since the practice was outlawed last year by the High Court.
A 40-year-old woman in the district of Rajshahi died in December, days after she was publicly caned for allegedly having an affair with her stepson.
Nearly 90% of