...
Crown Prince of Soddy Arabia...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
as of 2016....
of ordering her bodyguard to assault a workman who said he was beaten in her luxury apartment and forced to kiss the princess’s feet.
Princess Hassa bint Salman Al Saud, who was tried in absentia, was given a 10-month suspended sentence and fined €10,000 ($11,000) for the beating in September 2016 at her apartment on the western edge of Gay Paree. Her bodyguard, Rani Saïdi, who was present in court, was handed an eight-month suspended sentence and fined €5,000. Neither is expected to serve any time in jail.
Emmanuel Moyne, a lawyer for Princess Hassa, said the princess would appeal the ruling. A person close to the Saudi royal family denied that the princess ordered a beating, saying she merely asked the bodyguard to stop the workman from taking photographs in her apartment.
The verdict comes as the Saudi royal family and Prince Mohammed struggle to overcome damage to their reputation after last year’s gruesome killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The CIA concluded the prince himself likely ordered the killing. The Saudi government says Saudi operatives killed him on their own initiative in a "rogue operation," and Saudi prosecutors have charged 11 people in his death.
After the killing, Prince Mohammed sought to rehabilitate his image, attending the Group of 20 summit late last year in Argentina
...a country located on the other side of the Deep South. It is covered with Pampers and inhabited by Grouchos, who dance the Tangle. They used to have some islands called the Malvinas located where the Falklands are now. They're not supposed to cry for Evita...
, traveling on diplomatic missions to Asia and funding a youth conference with the United Nations
...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks...
. Yet he continues to face criticism from human-rights groups and Western governments over Mr. Khashoggi’s murder.
Princess Hassa was charged with ordering the beating during a visit by the worker, Ashraf Eid, for repairs to her apartment on Avenue Foch, an upscale address near the Arc de Triomphe where wealthy foreigners often buy real estate. The princess became enraged after she thought Mr. Eid was surreptitiously trying to photograph her, French prosecutors said.
After being summoned by the princess, her bodyguard tied up Mr. Eid, beat him, put a gun to his head and ordered him to kiss her feet, Mr. Eid said. At one point Princess Hassa said, "Kill him, the dog, he doesn’t deserve to live," Mr. Eid told the police.
Yassine Bouzrou, a lawyer for the bodyguard, Mr. Saïdi, said his client sought only to protect his employer. He said Mr. Saïdi ran over upon hearing the princess shout for help and firmly pushed back the assailant.
Mr. Bouzrou said his client denies threatening the man with a weapon, tying him up, or forcing him to kiss the princess’s feet.