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» 11/16/2007 11:31
SAUDI ARABIA
Saudi Court condemns rape victim to 200 lashings and six months prison
She is guilty of having been in a car with a “non relative” male at the time of the aggression by a group of men. The fist hearing had “only” condemned her to 90 lashings, but the Appeals Court increased the sentence because the young women “attempted to influence judgement through the media”.

Riyadh (AsiaNews) – A  appeals court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced a women raped by six men to  200 lashes and six months in prison. The women is guilty of “"being in the car of an unrelated male” at the time of the rape by a band of aggressors and  for "her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media”.

The sentence reported by Arab News, was pronounced by a court in Al-Qatif,  Western Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia's Higher Judicial Council ordered a retrial after she was initially ordered to undergo 90 lashes. A court source  said that the judges had decided to punish the woman further for "her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media."

The original sentence issued last week had originally condemned the six rapists to a punishment of between one and five years in prison.  That term was also doubled according to the new sentence.

The case has provoked outrage among the minority Shiite community, to which the victim belongs, while the rapists belong to the majority Sunnis.

The news of the sentence was widely covered by Arab press, with headlines such as this one carried by Middle East Online: “Only is Saudi Arabia is a victim of gang rape punished”.

 


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See also
06/05/2008 SAUDI ARABIA
King Abdullah: we must also dialogue with those who do not love Islam
09/04/2009 SAUDI ARABIA
Shiites in Saudi Arabia discriminated against as "non-believers"
03/04/2009 EGYPT - SAUDI ARABIA
Saudi minister calls for joint strategy to confront "Iranian challenge"
04/21/2008 UAE - PHILIPPINES
Blasphemy: three Filipinos in jail in Sharjah, and one Turk faces death in Gedda
09/15/2007 USA -ASIA
US report: Iraq loosing religious freedom

Dossier

Editor's choices
PAKISTAN - EU
Blasphemy in Pakistan and the European Court’s attack on the crucifix
by Bernardo Cervellera
Launched today from Rome the European leg (France, Holland, Belgium, Germany) of a campaign to raise awareness in Church and society of the plight and oppression of minorities in Pakistan, particularly the Christian one, due to the blasphemy law. A most unusual unity of purpose joins Islamic fundamentalists and European relativists.
VATICAN
Synod Message: Africa, Rise up and walk!
Here is the full text of the Message prepared by the Bishops during the African Synod. It looks at the continent’s tragedies and hopes as well as the Church’s commitment to development, the dignity of women, and the fight against AIDS. It also refers to the dialogue with the Churches of Asia.
VATICAN
Africa, have courage; rise up! Follow the Lord of life and hope, says the Pope
Africans “suffering from poverty, disease, injustice, wars, violence and forced migration” are “the Heavenly Father’s favourite.” The Church is a sign of reconciliation among ethnic groups. Elaborated by missionaries more than 40 years ago, Paul VI’s Populorum Progressio encyclical offers the best rationale for the continent’s development. It is urgent to correct globalization so that it serves all peoples. The Universal Church expresses its solidarity. In the Angelus, the Pope mentions Don Gnocchi, beatified today in Milan.

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