Punishment for adultery in Qatar

The punishment for crimes varies according to the diversity and difference of interests that the law wants to protect. If the interest protected by the law is that of an individual, then he has freedom to claim his right or not to claim, and if the interest protected by law relates to the community, the public prosecution will act on behalf of the community in the criminal lawsuit against the perpetrator to punish him, and this right is called “the public right”. The observed and assessed punishment for the crime of adultery is considered among the sanctions that aim at protecting the interests of society as well as the protection of victims. The Criminal Code prescribed severe penalties for this crime that reaches death penalty, in order to maintain the fabric of society and so that the legal marriage would be the right way for engagement of men and women to form a family and to be the nucleus of the community. There is no doubt that the protection of women is of public interests and maintained by the community  so that she will not be trafficked.

The Penal Code No. 11 of 2004 deals with the crime of adultery, that anyone who indulges in sex with a female against her will shall be punished by death or life imprisonment, whether under duress or threat or deception, the penalty is death if the offender is one of the victim’s origins or one who took care of her and her education or one who has authority over her or a servant of her or of the mentioned persons.

As the person shall be punished with imprisonment for life who indulges in sex with a female without force, threat, or deception knowing that she is mad or cranky or she is not sixteen years old yet, and the penalty will be death if the offender is one of the victim’s origins or one who took care of her and her education or one who has authority over her or a servant of her or of the mentioned persons.

 
The law did not fail to accept the female’s role imposing her with the same penalty as the main perpetrator of the crime, where the Criminal Code refers that every one shall be punished by imprisonment not exceeding seven years, who indulges in this illegal act with a female without force, threat, or deception when she has completed sixteen years of her age, and the female who has accepted the same for her will be punished with the same penalty, and the penalty will be life imprisonment or not more than fifteen years if the offender is one of the victim’s origins or one who took care of her and her education or one who has authority over her or a servant of her or of the mentioned persons.

The crime of adultery is not limited to the woman only, that’s why the law mentioned a penalty when a male indulges in sexual intercourse with another male, as the Criminal Code indicates that he shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than fifteen years who intercourses with a male against his will whether under duress or threat or deception, the penalty is death if the offender is one of the victim’s origins or one who took care of him and his education or one who has authority over him or a servant of him or of the mentioned persons.

As the person shall be punished by imprisonment for life who intercourses with a male without coerce, threat, or deception knowing that he is mad or he is not sixteen years old yet, and the penalty will be death if the offender is one of the victim’s origins or one who took care of him and his education or one who has authority over him or a servant of him or of the mentioned persons.

The law mentioned that everyone shall be punished by imprisonment term not exceeding seven years who intercourses with a male without force, threat, or deception when he has completed sixteen years of his age, and the male who has accepted the same for him will be punished with the same penalty, and the penalty will be life imprisonment or not more than fifteen years if the offender is one of the victim’s origins or one who took care of him and his education or one who has authority over him or a servant of him or of the mentioned persons.

We note here that the law has provided two models for the crime of adultery, the first model is when the victim is female and the second is when the victim is male, in both models the criminal and offender is male, while comparing the penalty in both of models we find that it would be hard in case when the victim is female, and it is because she is weaker than the man in defending herself, that’s why the penalty reaches to death or life imprisonment in case when it was done against her will, while the imprisonment does not exceed fifteen years if the victim is male and it was done against the will of victim.

The law has stressed the penalty when the male victim or the female victim is not aware, like being insane or young if they are not sixteen years old of age and it is for both sexes, and the penalty reaches to death if the offender is one of the victim’s origins or one who took care of her and her education or one who has authority over her or a servant of her or of the mentioned persons, This is because the offender become among the persons those are entrusted to the victim.

Every one shall be punished by imprisonment term not exceeding fifteen years, who intercourses with a female without force, threat, or deception when she has completed sixteen years of her age, and she is forbidden to him for temporary or permanent basis while he knows that, and the female who has agreed for the person will be punished with the same penalty, and the penalty will be life imprisonment or not more than fifteen years if the offender is one of the victim’s origins or one who took care of her and her education or one who has authority over her or a servant of her or of the mentioned persons.

And this term will be applied to the accused “offender” if he is Muslim, as it has been mentioned exclusively in Holy Quran and Hadith (it is a long explanation we will prefer to take this in a separate article). The intended forbidden women according to the text of Holy Quran in chapter Al-Nisa are: “ Prohibited to you (For marriage) are: your mothers, daughters, sisters; father’s sisters, mother’s sisters; brother’s daughters, sister’s daughters; foster-mothers (who gave you suck), foster-sisters; your wives’ mothers; your step-daughters under your guardianship, born of your wives to whom ye have gone in,- no prohibition if ye have not gone in;- (Those who have been) wives of your sons proceeding from your loins; and two sisters in wedlock at one and the same time, except for what is past; for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful, also (prohibited are) women already married, except those whom your right hands possess.

And Allah says in chapter Al-baqara: “and do not marry idolatresses till they convert to Islam.”

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