An Indonesian Supreme Court candidate has sparked public outrage after suggesting that women may enjoy being raped.
Muhammad Daming Sanusi made the remark on Monday before a parliamentary selection panel, during which he was asked whether the death penalty was a suitable punishment for rape.
Sanusi said that since both the rapist and the victim “might have enjoyed it, we have to think twice about imposing the death penalty.”
Members of the panel reportedly laughed at his comments, which drew immediate criticism from rights groups and on social media.
Sanusi apologized on Tuesday and said his remark was intended to “ease the tension” of the interview.
He tearfully told a press conference he was “out of control” and said: “I apologize to the Indonesian public from the bottom of my heart. I realize those words shouldn’t have come out from anyone, let alone a justice hopeful.”
Several political parties — among them the Democratic party, which holds the highest number of seats at the parliamentary commission overseeing the appointment — have since vowed not to support Sanusi’s supreme court candidacy.
The judicial commission is also investigating whether his comments constitute an ethics violation.
Various rights groups have called for Sanusi’s dismissal, among them the Indonesian Child Protection Commission, which described the judge’s comments as “extremely inappropriate.”
An online petition has been launched calling for his disqualification as a Supreme Court candidate.
Sanusi, a judge for the past 24 years who is currently chief of the High Court in Palembang, Sumatra, has found supporters amid the furore, among them the supreme court spokesman Ridwan Mansyur, who said: “Judges are only humans [and] can make mistakes — and he already apologized to the public.”
Activists claim that government officials too often fail to take rape seriously, pointing to last year’s outrage over comments by Jakarta’s then-governor Fauzi Bowo, who warned women not to wear miniskirts on public transport as such clothing “could arouse male drivers and passengers” and lead to “unwanted consequences.”
An editorial in the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday called Sanusi’s views “beyond shocking” and said: “If we have judges [who] make light of rape, we will only encourage more attacks on women and children.”
Rape is often unreported in Indonesia because the blame too often focuses on the victim, rights groups said.
Heinous sexual crimes often make national headlines, the most recent being that of an Indonesian girl aged 11 who died earlier this month of infections believed to have been incurred after repeated sexual abuse.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
IN PURSUIT: Israel’s defense minister said the revenge attacks by Israeli settlers would make it difficult for security forces to find those responsible for the 14-year-old’s death Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday condemned the “heinous murder” of an Israeli teenager in the occupied West Bank as attacks on Palestinian villages intensified following news of his death. After Benjamin Achimeir, 14, was reported missing near Ramallah on Friday, hundreds of Jewish settlers backed by Israeli forces raided nearby Palestinian villages, torching vehicles and homes, leaving at least one villager dead and dozens wounded. The attacks escalated in several villages on Saturday after Achimeir’s body was found near the Malachi Hashalom outpost. Agence France-Presse correspondents saw smoke rising from burned houses and fields. Mayor Amin Abu Alyah, of the