Rubina Hussein A lesbian Nepalese traffic policewoman has been acquitted of charges of abducting and sexually abusing her partner. Rubina Hussein, 27, claimed in the Kathmandu District Court that she neither abducted nor abused 17-year old Pujan Basnet sexually. "She is my live-in girlfriend; we are head over heels in love. They arrested and suspended me in a misuse of power," she told the court and police officers after her arrest eighteen months ago. Basnet is the neice of Hussein's boss in the traffic police and was suspended from her job after the charges were laid. "There are no evidences that Pujan was kidnapped by Hussein as claimed by Pujan´s family," reads the court verdict. "It is our conclusion that Pujan´s family accused Hussein of kidnapping her simply because Hussein kept Pujan without their consent. It doesn´t substantiate that Pujan was kidnapped by Hussein." The court verdict is expected to pave the way for Hussein's reinstatement as a traffic policewoman. Nepal legalised homosexuality in 2007. Hussein was supported in her defence by Nepal's Blue Diamond Society, a glbt rights organisation which was prominent amongst delegates to Wellington's Asia/Pacific OutGames Human Rights Conference earlier this year. The Society is also championing the cause of conference delegate Bhakti Shah, a.k.a. Milan, who was thrown out of Nepal's army and brutalised in military prison after declaring love for a woman.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 1st June 2011 - 9:07pm