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| Arabia | |
| Saudi Arabia reviews gang rape victim's sentence | |
| 2007-11-28 | |
SAUDI Arabia's judiciary is reviewing a sentence of six months in jail and 200 lashes handed down to a gang rape victim, official media has reported. "There is currently a review process being carried out into the ruling by the judicial system,'' the SPA news agency quoted Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal as telling reporters from the US-hosted Middle East peace conference.
Sign the News.com.au petition to save this rape victim "What is aggravating in this matter is that individual acts like these are used to attack the Saudi people and its government,'' SPA quoted Prince Saud as saying. The teenage victim, who has not been identified, was attacked at knifepoint by seven men after she was found in a car with a male companion who was not a relative, in breach of strict Saudi law. In October 2006, a judge sentenced her to 90 lashes for being with the man - a taboo in the conservative Muslim kingdom which imposes segregation of the sexes. An appeal was launched against the sentence but despite the woman's ordeal the court ruled her punishment should be increased to 200 lashes and a six-month jail term. Saudi Arabia's justice ministry said on Saturday that the woman had admitted having an extramarital affair with the man in the car. The assailants were initially sentenced to one to five years in jail, but those terms were also toughened on appeal to between two and nine years. Their sentences fell short of the death penalty - which could be imposed in a rape conviction - due to the "lack of witnesses'' and the "absence of confessions'' as required by Islam, the justice ministry said. The court also revoked the licence of the woman's lawyer, who has also been summoned by the justice ministry to appear before a disciplinary panel next month. | |
| Posted by:Oztralian |
| #6 the cell phone recording wouldntadmissable... cell phones are not islamic, and only a muslem can be a witnes in an islamic court. |
| Posted by: Abu do you love 2007-11-28 19:27 |
| #5 "Their sentences fell short of the death penalty - which could be imposed in a rape conviction - due to the "lack of witnesses'' and the "absence of confessions'' as required by Islam, the justice ministry said." I guess the cell phone recording of the rape was not witness enough for them. |
| Posted by: JohnnieBartlett 2007-11-28 18:39 |
| #4 but they'll go ahead with the misogynistic injustice all the same because Fixed that for ya, M.Murcek. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-11-28 15:33 |
| #3 The young lady is from a Shiite part of Saudi Arabia. I wonder how much that played a part in her sentence. |
| Posted by: Swamp Blondie 2007-11-28 12:52 |
| #2 Or because Nayyaf - the most serious Wahabist in the royal family - will insist and will get his way in exchange for supporting King Abdullah's decision to resist OPEC pressure to decrease oil production &/or unpeg from the US dollar. |
| Posted by: lotp 2007-11-28 11:08 |
| #1 Just watch. The house of saud is well aware of how poorly this is playing on the world stage, but they'll go ahead with the misogynistic injustice all the same because they just can't help themselves... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2007-11-28 09:07 |