Saudi Rape Victim Sentenced to Lashings, Bush Admin Won't Interfere   Sunday, November 25th, 2007

This is a shocking story on so many levels.  A 19-year old Saudi Arabian woman was in a car with a man who was not her relative, which is against conservative Muslim law requiring segregation of the sexes.  She is from Qatif, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

She was married, but allegedly was carrying on an affair with another man, whom she was found in a state of undress with in a vehicle by seven men, who proceeded to apply their own twisted justice by kidnapping the two at knifepoint, and sexually assaulting the woman.

When she told her family what had happened to her, her brother slapped her and tried to kill her.

Several months after the attack, the woman's husband found out about the affair, and reported it to the authorities after receiving an e-mail from an unidentified source informing him of the affair.

The men were sentenced to between two and nine years in jail; they could have received the death penalty for rape, but the court claimed there was a "lack of witnesses" and the "absence of confessions" (according to the justice ministry Tuesday).

And the woman was sentenced to 90 lashes.  With a cane.  She is being charged for being in a state of 'khalwa' (retreat with a man who is not a relative).  "She admitted to...exchanging sinful relations," the justice ministry said.  If this weren't bad enough - the woman and her husband went to the media with the story, and for that - the General Court of Qatif increased her sentence to six months in jail and 200 lashes.

How does a person survive 200 lashes?  I can't imagine being sentenced to one!  And the judge issued a sort of blackmail gag order:  the judge warned that "resorting to the media" could have a negative effect on the case; and also if they appeal and lose, the sentence could be increased.

Hillary Clinton has spoken out against the recent sentencing as an outrage and attacked the White House for their response (or lack thereof) to the sentencing.  The Bush Administration has refused to condemn the sentence on the grounds that it was an internal Saudi judicial decision.

"I urge President Bush to call on King Abdullah to cancel the ruling and drop all charges against this woman," Senator Clinton said.

Saudi Arabia's English daily paper Arab News has also been publically critical, publishing a column that said, "Justice is absent from...many court cases in our country."

Here is the woman, now known as the "Qatif Girl" in the press, giving her testimony in court:

"I was 19 years old. I had a relationship with someone on the phone. We were both 16. I had never seen him before. I just knew his voice.

He started to threaten me, and I got afraid. He threatened to tell my family about the relationship. Because of the threats and fear, I agreed to give him a photo of myself.

A few months later, I asked him for the photo back but he refused.  I had gotten married to another man. He said, 'I'll give you the photo on the condition that you come out with me in my car.' I told him we could meet at a market near my neighborhood city plaza in Qatif.

He started to drive me home. We were 15 minutes from my house. I told him that I was afraid and that he should speed up.  We were about to turn the corner to my house when another car stopped right in front of our car.

Two people got out of their car and stood on either side of our car.  The man on my side had a knife. They tried to open our door. I told the individual with me not to open the door, but he did.

He let them come in. I screamed. One of the men brought a knife to my throat. They told me not to speak. They pushed us to the back of the car and started driving.

We drove a lot, but I didn't see anything since my head was forced down. They took us to an area with lots of palm trees. No one was there.  If you kill someone there, no one would know about it. They took out the man with me, and I stayed in the car.

I was so afraid. They forced me out of the car. They pushed me really hard...Took me to a dark place.

Then two men came in. They said, 'What are you going to do? Take off your abaya.' They forced my clothes off. The first man with the knife raped me. I was destroyed. If I tried to escape, I didn't even know where I would go.

I tried to force them off but I couldn't. Another man came in and did the same thing to me. I didn't even feel anything after that.

I spent two hours begging them to take me home. I told them that it was late and that my family would be asking about me.

Then I saw a third man come into the room. There was a lot of violence. After the third man came in, a fourth came. He slapped me and tried to choke me.

The fifth and sixth ones were the most abusive. After the seventh one, I couldn't feel my body anymore. I didn't know what to do. Then a very fat man came on top of me and I could no longer breathe.

Then all seven came back and raped me again. Then they took me home. When I got out of the car, I couldn't even walk. I rang the doorbell and my mother opened the door.

She said 'you look tired.'  I didn't eat for one week after that, just water.  I didn't tell anyone.  I went to the hospital the next day.  The criminals started talking about the rape in my neighborhood.

They thought my husband would divorce me. They wanted to ruin my reputation.

Slowly my husband started to know what had happened. Four months later, we started a case. My family heard about the case. My brother hit me and tried to kill me."

The young woman's case was fought by attorney Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem, whose license was taken away by the authorities.

   

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