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Clemency Request From Mass Murderer 3

Hena Akhter Raped By Cousin, Then Whipped to Death for Having an 'Affair'

By Pete Kotz in bad clergy, homicide
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 12:42 pm
Hena-Akter_opt.jpg
Hena Akhter was only 14 years old, the youngest of five children who lived in Shariatpur, Bangladesh. Her problems began a year ago, when her married cousin, Mahbub Khan, who was three times her age, returned to their village and took a liking to Hena...

Khan began following her and harassing her on the way to and from school, where she was in the 7th grade. So Hena's dad petitioned the village elders to have it stopped. They fined Khan $1,000 payable to Hena's family and told him to leave her alone.

He didn't. Months later, he seemed to be waiting for her outside her home. Hena walked outside to use the outdoor toilet. That's when Khan jumped her from behind, gagged her with a cloth, forced her behind some shrubbery, then beat and raped her.

Khan's wife heard Hena's screams and found her husband raping the girl. But instead of going Old Testament on her husband, she dragged Hena back to the girl's home, then beat and stomped her.

Bangladesh is supposed to be a modern country where Islamic law is outlawed. But in the countryside, the village Imam still rules the roost. In a meeting held at Khan's house the next day, they Imam ruled that Khan and Hena had an illicit relationship.

She was sentenced to 101 lashes. Khan was sentenced to 201.

But when punishment time came, he managed to conveniently escape after just a few lashes. Hena was not so lucky.

As her family watched on, she only made it to 70 before the whip broke and she fell unconscious. She would die a week later in the hospital.

Though she died from internal injuries, an initial autopsy would later list her death as a suicide, and say that she had no apparent injuries.

After a second autopsy, police have charged four doctors with negligence for covering up the true extent of her injuries. They've also arrested Khan.

But in a land where religious figures are rarely charged with issuing illegal rulings, it's doubtful that the Imam will ever be charged with the murder he sanctioned. (Special thanks to reader Emland for the tip.)

See our last story from the Religion file: Rev. Brent Girouex Had Sex With Boys to Cure Them Of Homosexual Urges.

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