1) LOTSA good news today, and not just happy propaganda fluff but reporting REAL PROGRESS (not that I would ever think the JT would ever do puff pieces).
Key points are bolded, because the court system AND the family are to be applauded
By Rana Husseini
AMMAN – The Criminal Court has sentenced a 36-year-old man to seven years in prison for sexually assaulting a child in September 2009.
The court passed down a strong sentence. Key
Court papers said the victim and A. M. were related and on the day of the incident the defendant was visiting his house.
The perpetrator was a close relative knew the defendant. Incest cannot be excused. Key
The defendant decided to sexually assault the boy and waited until he was alone, according to the court.
“He lured the boy to a deserted area near the house where he undressed him by force and sodomised him,” the court said.
The defendant carefully planned the rape, used familial trust and entrapped the boy. Key
The defendant then threatened the victim by telling him he would lock him up “where no one would know his whereabouts” if he told his mother or anyone else, according to court transcripts.
The defendant threatened the boy, typical abuser tactic. Key
The child returned home in bad shape and told his family about the incident, the court documents said.
The boy’s family rushed him to the Family Protection Department, where they filed a complaint against the defendant.
The family believed the boy and went to the proper authorities. Key
The victim’s family refused to drop charges against A.M., who pleaded not guilty to the charges during his opening trial last year, according to the court.
The family validated the seriousness of the crime, especially when the perpetrator had the audacity to plead not guilty. Key
2) A conference concludes with an excellent idea: combat domestic violence by involving the school curriculum. I believe this needs to happen in KG, though, not high school. I am also glad the discussion on uniting the efforts of NGOs and public institutions was brought up. As I discussed with another writer friend this week, there is too much overlap, competition and working against one another in these sectors.
Just lost points 3 and 4, since I erased the darn thing over the format mess, but lets be happy that Jordan is #1 in the democracy index, but not get too excited considering who the competition is. There was also a warning that stalling progress could set us back.
Point 4 was about the raise public school teachers will get, good move, yet I noted that their demand of guaranteed placement for their kids in uni was not included. Even better move. Shu, guaranteed placement in Uni? Ma a7wahum.
