Saudi Rape Victim Sentence To Be Reviewed

Foreign Minister: Court To Review Case Of Gang Rape Victim Who Was Jailed And Flogged

(AP)  A Saudi court will review the case of a young gang rape victim sentenced to jail and flogging after she was convicted of violating the country's strict sex segregation laws, the foreign minister was quoted as saying Tuesday.

The remarks by Prince Saud al-Faisal, made in the United States and carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, were the latest in response to a salvo of international condemnation of Saudi judicial authorities' handling of the case.

It was also a sharp turn from a Saturday statement in which the Saudi justice ministry condemned the girl -- raped by seven men and then sentenced to six months prison and 200 lashes -- as a married woman who had allegedly confessed to cheating on her husband.

In the statement, the ministry said the flogging sentence against the rape victim would be carried out and condemned foreign interference. The statement likely sought to ease international outrage over the case by discrediting the woman.

On Tuesday, SPA quoted al-Faisal, who spoke from Annapolis, Maryland, where he is attending the U.S.-hosted Mideast peace conference, as saying that "the Saudi judiciary will review the case" of the Shiite girl from the city of Qatif.

But al-Faisal was also on the defensive and claimed the case was being used against Saudi authorities.

"What is outraging about this case is that it is being used against the Saudi government and people," he said without elaborating.

Known only as the "Girl from Qatif," the 19-year-old rape victim said she was a newlywed who was meeting a high school friend in his car to retrieve a picture of herself from him when the attack occurred in the eastern city of Qatif in 2006.

While in a car with him, two men got into the vehicle and drove them to a secluded area where others waited, and then she and her companion were both raped.

The ministry's account Saturday alleged that the woman and her lover met in his car for a tryst "in a dark place where they stayed for a while."

The girl was initially sentenced to prison and 90 lashes for being alone with a man not related to her. An appeal court then doubled the lashes to 200.

The increase in sentence received heavy coverage in the international media and prompted expressions of astonishment from the U.S. government. Canada called it "barbaric."

The State Department expressed astonishment about the sentence of the Saudi court against the rape victim.

Under Saudi Arabia's strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, women are not allowed in public in the company of men other than their male relatives. Also, women in Saudi Arabia are often sentenced to flogging and even death for adultery and other crimes.

The seven men convicted of gang raping the woman were given prison sentences of two to nine years. The initial sentences for the men ranged from 10 months to five years in prison.

The case has sparked rare domestic debate about Saudi's legal system, which gives judges wide discretion in sentencing criminals, rules of evidence are shaky and sometimes no lawyers are present.

Justice in Saudi Arabia is administered by a system of religious courts and judges appointed by the king on the recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council. Those courts and judges have complete discretion to set sentences, except in cases where Sharia outlines a punishment, such as capital crimes.

That means that no two judges would likely hand down the same verdict for similar crimes. A rapist, for instance, could receive anywhere from a light or no sentence to death, depending on the judge's discretion.

[nggr]

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o o
^^
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this is a picture of the prophet muhammad that i just drew.
f*ck islam

[redbarron73]

Islam is without a doubt the most archaic, oppressive religion on this earth. There is also a story of a teacher in Sudan who has been jailed and faces 40 lashes and 6 mos. in jail for allowing her 7 year olds to name a teddy bear "Muhammad." It seems that every week I read another article stating that the muslims of the world are "outraged" over some trivial perceived "blasphemy."Ridiculous! I am so "outraged" that I have just named my pet rat "Muhammad."

[stoneage2007]

I see that the judge give the victim mercy and the kindness


You can read that and understand
Meanwhile, Dr. Ibrahim Bin Saleh Al-Khedairi. a senior Judge at the Court of Cassation in Riyadh, told Saudi Gazette that he thought the hue and cry in the international media about the Qatif girl''s case was aimed at tarnishing the image of Saudi Arabia and its judiciary.

Dr. Al-Khedairi, who has been in the legal profession for the last three decades, said "the unnecessary fuss created over this case does not help in any way but instead further damages the repudiation of the girl."

He argued that the court handled the case with mercy and kindness otherwise the judges would have handed down the death penalty for her and the others implicated. Death is the punishment under Shariah for a married woman found to have committed adultery.

Dr. Al-Khedairi said this particular case touches the.

SaudiGazette newspaper 27th Nov 2007

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41646&Itemid=1

[luckygirl042]

Frankly6 said:
This is the kind of madness that takes over when you allow your country to be ruled by the dictates of a 2 thousand year old book. This is why church and state, faith and reason should be separate. The judges in a theocratic state operate beyond logic and reason and are beyond reproach as they are considered to be operating according to "God''''s" laws.

Posted by frankly6 at 11:12 PM : Nov 27, 2007



---------------------------------------------------- I totally agree. Separation of church and state is of the utmost importance in any culture. I''m getting a little nervous about how much overt religionism has crept into politics in the US in the last few years.
I do not wish to be ruled by some ancient rules that have been corrupted down through thousands of years to say just what the ruling religious want. Save us from the true believers!

[dmhphils]

The liberal mentality is supposed to favor human rights, democracy, multiculturalism, diversity, etc., but if the Jihad wins, wherever the Jihad wins, it is the end of civil rights, human rights, democracy, multiculturalism, diversity etc.

[harp1963]

If Saudi Arabia didn''t have the United States in a foreign oil death grip, we would have made a glass parking lot out of them a long time ago. Most of the terrorist attacks over the last 20 years against the U.S. have been by Saudi Arabians or those that are hugely influenced by them. They have a free "terrorize the United States" pass that not only allows them to attack us, but in return, we will sell them our lastest military equipment and educate them at our best universities so they can develop more innovative ways to attack us.

This war in Iraq and the lack of one in Saudi Arabia have nothing to do with protecting American citizens. That baloney is for the sheep who will believe anything a politician says as long as an American flag is waving in the background. The war in Iraq and the lack of one in Saudi Arabia is about control of the world''s oil reserves period.

The lovers of money and power will find that in the next life it would have been better if they had been homeless people living under a bridge in Pittsburgh during February.

[susanhelit]

It''s not good - but - according to her husband (who is very supportive and on her side), this is not a typical punishment - even by Saudi standards, this is a travesty of justice. It sounds like this case, and the international outrage over it, might help to push some much needed reforms. It''s an old system, the judges have ridiculously too much power, and changing it can be difficult - and it''s one that existed in medieval Europe too - so don''t feel too superior.

[frankly6]

This is the kind of madness that takes over when you allow your country to be ruled by the dictates of a 2 thousand year old book. This is why church and state, faith and reason should be seperate. The judges in a theocratic state operate beyond logic and reason and are beyond reproach as they are considered to be operating according to "God''s" laws.

[ov442]

The Arabs persecute and oppress women, treat them like cattle, lie about them, deny them justice even within their own 1-sided laws favoring men. why? Because they will not hold themselves (the men in power) accountable for sins & crimes against others regardless of ***/religion/place in society they commit in secrecy or in the open.

Its always about that. Refusal to be accountable for sins and crimes. A mindset created by those in power controlling society, education level, brainwashing, money, power etc.

It happened in the exact same way in the Caucasian world with the Catholic church a 1000 years ago.
They held the masses uneducated, forced tithing, subjugation, held under an iron fist of violence. A sword to the back to make them believe as the Vatican demanded. A 1000 yrs later, Preists were still raping children left and right all over the world. What depravity do you think has been happening at the highest levels of All organized churches?
When the Priest scandals hit the fan a few years ago, Dozens of other big religions investigated showed the same thing happening in their organizations. Baptists, Mormons, Methodists, Evangelicals.
Remember Ted Haggard? Leader of the Evengelical church and GWB''s Direct liason to the "Faith-based initiative". Took narcotics and frequented male prostitutes while squandering his enourmous pay, (235,000) then a year later begging for donations so he can continue living at a high level.

[barbjc1]

Typical of any country that is basically ruled by religion of any kind. Women get the harsh treatment, look at our own history, the Salem witch trials.