Al-Jazirah It is quite difficult to understand the logic behind the handling of rape cases in which the victims are boys with some sort of leniency by our courts. Culprits in such cases get away with mild punishments while compared to the death sentences awarded to those convicted of raping minor girls. The punishments against those convicted of raping boys range from a few years' imprisonment to some months along with some lashes. Even in secular countries, rapists of children get harsher punishments. For example, in the Turkish city of Karaman, a school teacher who was convicted of raping at least 10 boys was sentenced to 508 years in prison by a court this year. On the other hand, a Saudi court pronounced a verdict against a 19-year-old rapist this month, awarding him 10 months in jail and 80 lashes. The young man was convicted of attempting to sodomize a 14-year-old boy. According to the testimony of the victim's father, the young man lured his son to a remote area and committed the crime. This verdict is an example of the leniency shown to the perpetrators of heinous crimes by Saudi courts. Even the laws in the West dictate harsher punishment for such crimes as they involve a breach of dignity and honor of children. Raping boys and minor girls are both vicious crimes, and hence there should be some uniformity in verdicts issued by the courts in all such cases. I have no doubt that the Islamic Shariah includes these crimes in the list of those grave crimes such as spreading mischief on the earth and as such the offenders have to be punished with stringent penalties. Hence, I do not understand why this leniency while pronouncing verdicts against those convicted of raping boys. Similar is the case with the issue of stealing public wealth. There are no laws to give tough punishment for those convicted in such cases. There are also instances in which those convicted of drug trafficking are being given reprieve if they were able to memorize the Holy Qur'an while serving jail terms. There is also leniency in the case of those involved in joyriding. In all these cases, some social or cultural or traditional elements or factors could be standing in the way of effective implementation of the Shariah rules. Therefore, the judges have to be cautious and vigilant about the strict implementation of the provisions in Shariah while handling grave crimes to ensure no leniency for perpetrators of such heinous crimes under any circumstance.
