Lesotho: Death Penalty for HIV Rapists Unconstitutional, Top Court Rules

A decision by the constitutional division of Lesotho’s High Court has found controversial provisions in that country’s sexual offences law, unconstitutional. In particular, the court held that stipulating the death penalty for a convicted rapist, held to have known he was HIV positive at the time of the crime, infringed the constitutional right to freedom from discrimination and to a right to equality before the law. Carmel Rickard unpacks the judgment.

Just over 20 years ago, Lesotho’s then…