World Defends Sudanese Rape Victim Condemned to Death

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An online campaign is gaining momentum to defend a 19-year-old Sudanese woman sentenced to death for murdering her husband, who she says raped her after she was forced to marry him. The story of Noura Hussein received international attention when the details of her case circulated on social media and via an online petition on Change.org. In 2016, Hussein attempted to escape her arranged marriage, but her in-laws forcibly restrained her as her husband raped her to consummate their vows. Sarah el-Hasan, a rights activist supporting Hussein’s case, told al-Jazeera:

She wouldn’t have sex with the man; he recruited some of his cousins and brought them home where they held her down while her husband raped her.

Her lawyer Ahmed Sebair said:

The following night, when her husband tried to rape her again, Hussein stabbed him with a knife and killed him.

On Thursday, Hussein’s supporters stood behind her in the Omdurman courtroom as the judge condemned her to death by hanging after her husband’s family refused financial compensation for the killing, demanding instead that she face execution. Seif Magango, of Amnesty International said:

The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment, and to apply it to a rape victim only highlights the failure of the Sudanese authorities to acknowledge the violence she endured. Marital rape… despite being a taboo… is still a common occurrence in Sudanese society.

Nahid Gabralla is the director of NGO SEEMA, which assists gender-based violence victims and survivors. Gabralla said:

In my work, I’ve seen other cases like this. The suffering of Sudanese women happens all the time. The case of Noura is different. She stood for her rights.

Magango said:

This girl is a victim. She was married off at the tender age of 16 against her will and she stood up against that and refused to be forced into marriage. The death that took place was an act of self-defence and it’s a travesty of justice that she is at risk of being murdered, being killed by the state, only for defending herself and that is something that needs to be corrected and this death penalty, this death sentence, must be revoked.

Hussein’s lawyers have just under two weeks to appeal the conviction.

12 May 2018

TeleSur

https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/World-Defends-Sudanese-Rape-Victim-Condemned-to-Death-20180512-0013.html

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State of Maine Sends Ex-Greek Orthodox Priest Perv to Slam

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On Monday, a Maine court sentenced a former Greek Orthodox priest convicted of sexually abusing a child to serve six-and-a-half years of a 12-year prison sentence. It also sentenced Adam Metropoulos of Bangor ME to three years of probation and ordered him to register as a sexual offender. A court convicted Metropoulos last month on four counts of sexual abuse of a child. He also pleaded guilty to child pornography charges. A former acolyte at St George Greek Orthodox Church said that the 53-year-old Metropoulos had sexually assaulted him, when he was a teenager. The man, now 23, testified that he often pretended to be asleep during the assaults. The victim said in an impact statement read by a friend that Metropoulos “stole my life”. Metropoulos apologised in court and expressed fear of prison.

29 April 2015

Seacoastonline.com

http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20150428/NEWS/150429106/101141/NEWS

Former Mansfield Priest Patrick Nicholas Hughes Arrested In Sex Sting

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The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office arrested an Orthodox priest on sex charges who served in Mansfield OH as late as 2009. Cops arrested Patrick Hughes, also known as the Rev Nicholas Hughes, on Wednesday night. Police said that the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children task force arrested him on suspicion of attempted rape and attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. Hughes, a native of Alabama, served at Ss Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Mansfield for about 18 years. He lived at St Theodore House, a small monastery on Portland Way South in Galion OH. He left there in 2009. Most recently, he’s served a Greek Orthodox parish in Columbus OH.

Sheriff Zach Scott said that the investigation began earlier Wednesday, when Hughes allegedly posted an ad on an adult social networking site. The nature of the ad indicated that someone was looking for sexual relations with children. A detective responded to the ad and began communicating with Hughes. During the conversation, authorities allege, Hughes believed he was setting up a meeting with two boys, ages 9 and 14, for sexual activity. The cops arrested Hughes when he travelled to a location in Franklin County under the pretence of meeting the boys. Later that night, investigators searched Hughes’ north Columbus hotel room, where they recovered a laptop computer. They will examine the computer. Galion Police Detective Eric Bohach said that there are no other local priests involved in this incident, saying, “We’ve talked to people here, and there’s no indication that anybody else is involved”.

Hughes, 56, is acting dean at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral. He was a one-year interim priest at the church. The 2011 Richland-Ashland Regional CenturyLink telephone book lists Hughes’ address as Portland Way South. He’s in jail on felony charges of attempted rape and attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. His bond was set at 100,000 USD (3.1 million Roubles. 77,000 Euros. 62,000 UK Pounds) during a Thursday court appearance. The news release from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office gave Hughes’ address as 6191 Zumstein Drive on the North Side, which is a Hawthorn Suites hotel. Anyone with information on Hughes should call the Galion Police Department at (419) 468-5255 or the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office at (614) 525-3448.

22 September 2012

Anthony Conchel

Mansfield (OH) NewsJournal

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20120922/NEWS01/209220301/1002/rss01

Editor’s Note:

Note well that Hughes still sits in the slam, and neither the bishop or the parish is doing anything to spring him. That says a lot. One of the Cabinet said, “He’s just another homosexual convert priest”… yes, and the konvertsy continually caterwaul about sexual purity and poofs… when there’s a greater amount of it (proportionately) amongst them than found in real Orthodox circles. Fancy that. What was that about the long-time association of Fathausen, Gerasim Eliel, Damascene Christiansen, Freddie M-G, and Dreher with Gleb Podmoshensky (even after the ROCOR Holy Synod gave GP le sabot)? Hmm… proves my point, doesn’t it? If they’re not closeted poofs, they’re enablers of same… all whilst ranting about “homosexuals in the Church”… it’s a wonderful day in the neighbourhood, kids…

By the way, probably, Hughes is in “Punk City” (Protective Custody)… that’s slang for Solitary Confinement outside of General Population. That’s so the decent cons don’t murder him (literally). If there’s anyone hated in the slam, it’s a child molester. The half-life of such sorts is reckoned in seconds…

BMD

21 September 2012. Official Statement on Hughes’ Suspension

Metropolitan Maximos Aghiorgoussis (1935- ) of Pittsburgh giving Hughes the Great Schema

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I was sent this:

It is with heaviness of heart that I write to inform you that the V Rev NICHOLAS HUGHES is hereby suspended from all priestly activity effective immediately and until further notice pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.

Metropolitan Savas Zembillas

That’s all… but that’s all that’s necessary. Besides which, it was timely and released immediately. That’s good on the Greeks…

BMD