Two-hundred lashes for gang-raped woman
A Saudi woman who had fallen victim to a violent gang-rape has been
sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in jail after being found guilty
of speaking to the media about the crime and indecency.
The Shia woman, 19 years old back in 2006, was in the car of a
student friend when two men got into the vehicle and drove them to a
secluded area, where she was raped by seven men, the Middle East Monitor
reported .
She was initially sentenced to 90 lashes for being in the car of a
strange man, because the Saudi law dictates that a male family member
must accompany a woman at all times in public.
The rapists were, surprisingly, sentenced to prison terms up to five
years, which were regarded light considering the fact that they could
have faced the death penalty.
The woman's lawyer, Abdul Rahman al-Lahem, appealed to the Saudi
General Court after the sentences were handed down.
The court, however, more than doubled her sentence because the victim
had spoken to the media."For whoever has an objection on verdicts
issued, the system allows to appeal without resorting to the media,"
Saudi officials said in a statement published on the official Saudi
Press Agency.
The lawyer was also banned from the case, his license was
confiscated, and was summoned to a disciplinary hearing scheduled for
later this month.The verdict has been criticized by a number of
politicians and human rights organizations around the globe.Moreover,
former US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said,
7 Mar MHB News
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