Release of Fatmeh H7amzeh victim of confessional laws in Lebanon

Following angry protests against the detention of Fatmeh Hamzeh who refused to relinquish the custody of her child, (http://bit.ly/2fzk9e2), the mother of the 3-year-old toddler was released upon a decision of the Jaafari Court Sharia Judge, Jaafar Kawtharani, to suspend until further notice the ruling which awarded custody of the boy to her estranged husband. Immediately after her release, Fatmeh stressed her determination to pursue her right in practicing  motherhood until the very end. She also spoke of many mothers out there who share the same predicaments as a result of the discriminatory laws that “must be amended” as she said. “Women should not remain silent after today,” she maintained. In his comment on the decision, Kawtharani said he withdrew upon pressure by Hamzeh’s legal team, but refused to hold any responsibility for her imprisonment. Kawtharani noted that the Jaafari sharia judiciary is an essential part of the state judiciary, as it bases its verdicts on Islamic jurisprudence of the Shia Imamah while observing the prevalent laws and legal jurisprudence of the country. Al Akhbar daily, on the other hand, attributed the judge’s latest decision to the intervention of Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri and the Deputy Chair of the Higher Islamic Shia Council at the Jaafari Court. Meanwhile, the ‘National Campaign to Increase the Age of Custody for the Shiite Sect’ considered in a statement yesterday that Fatmeh’s release is not a victory, but rather a natural outcome of popular pressure, stressing that victory is achieved when the age of custody changes for the Shiite sect. The Campaign vowed to keep to the streets, calling for a demonstration this coming Saturday, 4 pm, in front of the Higher Shiite Council. In the same vein, Maya Ammar, from Kafa Enough Violence and Exploitation, described the prison sentence as unjust to many women like Fatmeh. (As Safir, Al Diyar, Al Akhbar, Al Mustaqbal, November 8, 2016)