Posted by Cockney Robin |
In case you thought they were being a bit harsh, the Saudis explained to CNN why
they sentenced a 19 year old rape victim to a punishment of 200 lashes and six months in prison. Apparently she was partly to blame!
The 19-year-old and an unrelated man were abducted, and she was raped by a group of seven men more than a year ago, according to Abdulrahman al-Lahim, the attorney who represented her in court.
The woman was originally sentenced in October 2006 to 90 lashes. But that sentence was more than doubled to 200 lashes and six months in prison by the Qatif General Court, because she spoke to the media about the case, a court source told Middle Eastern daily newspaper Arab News....
The man and woman were attacked after they met in Qatif on the kingdom's Persian Gulf coast, so she could retrieve an old photograph of herself from him, according to al-Lahim. Citing phone records from the police investigation, al-Lahim said the man was trying to blackmail his client. He noted the photo she was trying to retrieve was harmless and did not show his client in any compromising position.
Al-Lahim said the man tried to blame his client for insisting on meeting him that day. It is illegal for a woman to meet with an unrelated male.... Under law in Saudi Arabia, women are subject to numerous restrictions, including a strict dress code, a prohibition against driving and a requirement that they get a man's permission to travel or have surgery. Women are also not allowed to testify in court unless it is about a private matter that was not observed by a man, and they are not allowed to vote(CNN).
You can see a rather disturbing video clip here. "Everyone looks at me as if I'm wrong," said the raped-by-seven-men teenager. "I want to die." After 200 lashes, she might well get her wish.
The lawyer who tried to appeal her sentence has been stripped of his law licence, by the way.
Former Homeland Security Adviser Frances Townsend finds the sentence "absolutely reprehensible," while reminding the American public that the Saudis have assisted the US in battling terrorism, a point on which I shall not comment. (CNN) Other US Officials have "expressed...astonishment" at the sentence----though not to any Saudi officials. (CNN) Sean McCormack, speaking for the State Department, said: "It is within the power of the Saudi government to take a look at the verdict and change it." (CNN).
Yes it is, isn't it? And yet somehow the reflection is strangely unreassuring.
Memeorandum has blogger reactions here. For suitably trenchant, purging commentary, see Sadly, No! here.
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