Lesotho's proposed legislation to provide for the death...

Lesotho's proposed legislation to provide for the death sentence on men who rape knowing they are infected with Aids was published in the capital Maseru.
A judge of the Lesotho High Court, Semapo Peete, gave details of the Sexual Offences Draft Bill in an address to the annual meeting of the Lesotho Council of Non-governmental Organisations.
The judge said the Lesotho Law Reform Commission had recommended the death penalty on rapists who were proved to have had the full knowledge that they were infected with Aids when they committed rape.
The judge said in terms of the law, knowledge about a rapist's Aids condition became an aggravating circumstance which warranted a higher sentence.
The death sentence is to be provided for because an Aids infected rapist knew that his victim would be infected and ultimately die.
The proposed legislation will also provide for severe punishment to people infected with Aids who intentionally transmit the disease to others through rape or sodomy.
Similarly a woman who consents to sexual intercourse aware that she was infected with the disease should be sued for damages.
The death sentence is legal in Lesotho in some cases of murder and high treason.