Rape Case In Qatar About More Than Just Dangers Of Tourism

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A 22 year old Dutch woman on holiday in Qatar was jailed for nearly three months on unclear charges after reporting her rape to Qatari authorities.

Her drink was spiked while she was at a hotel bar with friends and she realized she’d been raped when she woke up in an unfamiliar room. The alleged attacker, reported to be of Syrian nationality, was not tried for the rape. Instead, the woman was immediately arrested after alerting police and incarcerated.

She has now been found guilty of “illicit sex” and being drunk. Sex is illegal in the Gulf state unless it occurs between married persons. She was given a one-year suspended sentence, three years of probation and fined $823. It is expected that she will be immediately deported.

Conflict Of Interest Brewing As Ohio Confronts Prison Overcrowding

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Ohio’s prison system is facing a severe overcrowding crisis. With facilities hovering around 130% capacity, prison chief Gary Mohr considered declaring an overcrowding emergency for the first time in the state’s history. This would have granted early release to prisoners nearing the end of their sentences, but those plans were inexplicably scuttled less than a month ago. It was unclear what the alternative strategy would be until Governor John Kasich released his budget proposal last week.

Kasich’s proposal calls for increasing the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) budget from $1.62 billion to $1.72 billion by 2017. It also doubles the budget for prisoner addiction services and commits $58 million to pursuing sentencing alternatives for low-level, nonviolent offenders over the next two years.

While a final budget has yet to be approved by the state legislature, the proposed increases put Director Mohr in a position that deserves serious scrutiny.

Early Release Law Unused As Ohio Prison Overcrowding Continues

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As prisoners, advocates and journalists warned of deteriorating conditions in Ohio’s prisons over the past year, the inmate population slowly crept back up to around 30% over capacity.

During that time, prisoners in the buckeye state were fed spoiled, inedible meals by the food contractor Aramark, sometimes tainted with maggots. They also suffered abuse and abysmal conditions at private prisons operated by Corrections Corp. of America (CCA), bad enough to inspire a 14-hour peaceful protest. Have the events of this past year finally generated enough misery and public scrutiny to pressure Ohio officials to act?

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