Saudi Rape Victim Gets 200 Lashes

(CBS/AP)  A Saudi court sentenced a woman who had been gang raped to six months in jail and 200 lashes - more than doubling her initial penalty for being in the car of a man who was not a relative, a newspaper reported Thursday.

The decision by the Qatif General Court came in a case that had sparked rare debate about the kingdom's justice system when it surfaced more than a year ago.

In its decision Wednesday, the court also roughly doubled prison sentences for the seven men convicted of raping the 19-year-old woman, the Arab News reported on its English-language Web site.

According to Arab News, the court said the woman's punishment was increased because of "her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media."

The New York Times reported that her lawyer, Abdulrahman al-Lahem, is a well-known human rights activist who angered the court by publicly criticizing the verdict. He said the verdict was too lenient for the rapists and unjust for the victim.

The victim had initially been sentenced to 90 lashes after being convicting her of violating Saudi's rigid laws on segregation of the sexes.

Under Saudi Arabia's interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, women are not allowed in public in the company of men other than their male relatives.

The court also banned her lawyer from defending her, confiscated his license to practice law and summoned him to a disciplinary hearing later this month.

The initial sentences for the men convicted of the gang rape ranged from 10 months to five years in prison. Their new sentences range from two to nine years, the paper said.

The attack took place in 2006. The woman has said that it occurred as she tried to retrieve her picture from a male high school student she used to know. While in the car with the student, two men got into the vehicle and drove them to a secluded area. She said she was raped there by seven men, three of whom also attacked her friend.

Reports of the story triggered debate about Saudi Arabia's legal system, in which judges have wide discretion in punishing a criminal, rules of evidence are shaky and sometimes no defense lawyers are present. The result, critics say, are sentences left to the whim of judges.

The judges, appointed by the king, have a wide discretion in handing down sentences, often said to depend on their whim. A rapist, for instance, could receive anywhere from a light or no sentence, to death.

The woman was identified in the media only as the Girl from Qatif. The case was referred back to the General Court by an appeals court last summer, after her lawyer went public with his criticism of the verdict.

[missingamerica]

I''m sure Bush and his princely Saudi buddies will have a chuckle over this as they discuss a better way to streamline the flow of dollars out of this country.

[famulla-2009]

Sir
It is in the Holy Book and Saudi is following this ardently. Nothing wrong with this sentence, sir
Firozali A. Mulla MBA PhD
P.O.Box 6044
Dar-Es-Salaam
Tanzania
East Africa

[thenamesdave]

And people seriously wonder why no one actually believes Islam is a "religion of peace?"

[janeyre-2009]

What will it take, for these women to revolt?

[janeyre-2009]

What will it take, for these women to revolt?

[beehive21-2009]

It''s too bad Shotgun Joe isn''t her neighbor.Hillary and Joe for President.

[fibonacci_]

Another comment.

[fibonacci_]

What happend to comments here.

[boredwell]

another sharia victim! how about the unmarried woman in africa. allegedly, she had relations with a married man.She got pregnant. The woman was condemned by Sharia for adultery and was to be stoned (post partum)to death by law. The man received no sentence. a 17 yo girl in Kurdish Iraq was stoned to death by relatives and neighbors in the public square! It was capture on cell phones! Her crime: walking with a man from another religious group.The examples go on. Human rights are not universal and not to be taken for granted. There are no guarantees for any of us. The unprotected are subject to,and victims (in the case of the 17yo)of cruel and murderous traditions hidden beneath the guise of honor and religious perogative. Sanctioned premeditated murder condoned by culture, religion, or tradition is heinous. Women are not represented in the Sharia. Sharia abrogates some of their basic human rights. We cannot hope to educate the funamentalist. Will education mitigate and erase these abominations? Right now the only answer is: attempt to escape!!!

[boredwell]

another sharia victim! how about the unmarried woman in africa. allegedly, she had relations with a married man.She got pregnant. The woman was condemned by Sharia for adultery and was to be stoned (post partum)to death by law. The man received no sentence. a 17 yo girl in Kurdish Iraq was stoned to death by relatives and neighbors in the public square! It was capture on cell phones! Her crime: walking with a man from another religious group.The examples go on. Human rights are not universal and not to be taken for granted. There are no guarantees for any of us. The unprotected are subject to,and victims (in the case of the 17yo)of cruel and murderous traditions hidden beneath the guise of honor and religious perogative. Sanctioned premeditated murder condoned by culture, religion, or tradition is heinous. Women are not represented in the Sharia. Sharia abrogates some of their basic human rights. We cannot hope to educate the funamentalist. Will education mitigate and erase these abominations? Right now the only answer is: attempt to escape!!!