No, the sentence of 200 lashes handed down to a Saudi girl for being alone with a man before being attacked and brutally gang-raped by 7 other men has NOT been reversed. But it has been “clarified“, according to CNN:
The Justice Ministry acknowledged in its statement Tuesday that the [young woman's] attorney is no longer on the case, saying he was punished by a disciplinary committee for lawyers because he “exhibited disrespectful behavior toward the court, objected to the rule of law and showed ignorance concerning court instructions and regulations.”
It added that the permanent committee of the Supreme Judicial Council recommended an increased sentence for the woman after further evidence against her came to light when she appealed her original sentence.
The judges of that committee also increased the sentences for the perpetrators based on the level of their involvement in the crime. Their sentences — which had been two to three years in prison — were increased to two to nine years, according to al-Lahim [the girl's former lawyer].
While it is appropriate to punish the brutes who molested the girl harshly, what does that have to do with the scourging the Saudi authorities intend to inflict on her? Nothing, of course.
The ministry also said it welcomes constructive criticism and insisted that the parties’ rights were preserved in the judicial process.
“We would like to state that the system has ensured them the right to object to the ruling and to request an appeal,” the statement continued, “without resorting to sensationalism through the media that may not be fair or may not grant anyone any rights, and instead may negatively affect all the other parties involved in the case.”
The victim’s additional crime, and that of her lawyer - who faces the prospect of being disbarred - it seems, is daring to speak out against the ridiculous scribblings that pass for law in their country.
Among them:
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.
The girl and her lawyer may not be going it alone forever, though.
The case has sparked outrage among human rights groups.
“This is not just about the Qatif girl, it’s about every woman in Saudi Arabia,” said Fawzeyah al-Oyouni, founding member of the newly formed Saudi Association for the Defense of Women’s Rights.
“We’re fearing for our lives and the lives of our sisters and our daughters and every Saudi woman out there. We’re afraid of going out in the streets.
“Barring the lawyer from representing the victim in court is almost equivalent to the rape crime itself,” she added.
Pretty strong words.
But looking on the bright side:
The Saudi government recently has taken some steps toward bettering the situation of women in the kingdom, including the establishment earlier this year of special courts to handle domestic abuse cases, adoption of a new labor law that addresses working women’s rights and creation of a human rights commission.
Yet I have to wonder…what rights are those, exactly?
h/t memeorandum
“C’mon guys! Just beat the s**t outa her and get it over with, yer gonna do it anyway right? So why waste your time and piss the West off with even more bad publicity AND draw out the suspense.”
The above was heard by the “fly on the wall” in Saudi Arabia.
“Sooo, what are we gonna do about it besides yell a lot?”
The above was heard by the “fly on the wall” in the U.S.
Canada will allow a person to hear voices and see things and they are safe.
Qatif is a largely Shi’ite town which experienced a major incident of unrest in 1979. My guess is that the Saudi Sunni establishment could possibly be behind the harshness of the judge’s ruling. The Shi’ites in Eastern Province have always been subject to harsh applications of the law and more.
I doubt if this kind of sentence would be applied in Jidda, for instance, where I lived for several years. The application of strict punishments was always pretty lenient in Jidda while I was there.
Ahhh, clarification, what an interesting way to put retaliation against lawyers who dare to defend women. Apparently a backward medieval cruel legal system isn’t enough; you need to make sure that the message is sent that openly taking the side of a rape victim will not be tolerated.
But fear not, our dear leaders will be seen literally holding hands with the Saudi Princes. I mean why quibble over pesky human rights and support of terrorism when theirs oil to be had and weapons to be sold, eh?
I would like to add that our leaders in Europe should be doubly ashamed, since they are quick to condemn the US for torture (justifiably so) but are somehow not rendered so brave when they see what other countries do to their own citizens.
I wonder how much this kind of sentencing would be affected if the guy(s) doing the sentencing had to perform the punishment. Also, I wonder if there is a school where you go to learn the “proper” method of whipping someone.
Let’s face it, we scream and yell about this kind of thing and genocides and mass murders around the world, but what, if anything can we do to stop it? We buy oil and support them instead of taking the pain and working in a dedicated manner to get around the economic necessity of buying that oil thus allowing us to apply economic pressure. Some would argue, “better the devil you know” for fear of current leadership being replaced by a worse one (which is likely) and so on. How about a “brainstorming” session of ideas to deal with this kind of “medieval” behavior, including those ideas that would take years to implement?
It often seems that although many folks are really angered by this kind of thing, all they do is vent a bit and go on tolerating it. Is this because there are no currently viable ways to combat the problem, or none well enough adverstised for someone to “sink their teeth into” and support?
Let me give you an example. I don’t use or have a cell phone. Why, I know where some of the raw materials used in their production comes from, and the people living there are not benefiting at all from this, in fact are being butchered on occasion. (See Democratic Republic of Congo.) I recognize that I have to live in my society, and inorder to do that there are “things” I must have (like this computer, much of which says made in China, a place where organs are harvested involuntarily and freedom of speech and religion are suppressed with dire consequences to those who push the very tight limits!) It is a start though and with all things like this, it won’t be a “step function” but instead will be a smooth curve (steep or otherwise) to the goal of arresting this behavior everywhere.
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 Kingdom’s sovereignty and thus no country in the world regardless of its weight and status, is allowed to encroach on the Kingdom’s judiciary.
“The Kingdom is a sovereign country ruled by the Divine Book from which its laws are derived,” he said. He stressed that that the United States, Europe and all countries bestow immunity on judges. Some US courts do not allow publicizing of their verdicts, he pointed out.
He said the Qatif girl’s case was seen by courts of different grades and was thoroughly examined by the Supreme Judicial Council, which endorsed the verdicts. “Therefore, what is the reason behind the uproar on this case even though it was subjected to all the legal proceedings applied all over the world?”
“The girl was responsible for this case from A to Z, yet it drew the sympathy of the so-called advocates of human rights who thus defended a fiasco - since all countries which don’t apply the Islamic Shariah also reject immoral acts such as adultery and public prostitution because such crimes lead to the collapse of societies,” Dr. Al-Khedairi said.
SaudiGazette newspaper 27th Nov 2007
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41646&Itemid=1