December 17, 2007
Saudi King Pardons Rape Victim
Good news out of Saudi Arabia (via CNN):
Saudi King Abdullah has pardoned a rape victim who had been sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison in a case that sparked international attention, a Saudi newspaper reported.The case cast light on the treatment of women under Saudi Arabia's strict Islamic law.
King Abdullah issued the royal pardon on Monday, Al-Jazirah newspaper quoted a Saudi Justice Ministry official as saying.
A Saudi court ruled the 19-year-old had an "illegitimate relationship" with a man who was not her husband, and that the rape occurred after she and the man were discovered in a "compromising situation, her clothes on the ground."
The attacks took place in Qatif in March 2006 when the woman was engaged to be married.
The case has drawn international attention, provoked outrage in the West and cast light on the treatment of women under strict Islamic law in Saudi Arabia.
The woman was meeting with a man -- described by the woman's attorney as a former friend from whom she was retrieving a photograph -- when they both were abducted last March.
Seven men were convicted in their abduction and her rape and received sentences ranging from 10 months to five years in jail.
Although the pardon does nothing to change Saudi Arabia's terrible treatment of women in general, it is a welcome relief for this young woman and her husband, who has courageously stood by her and sought justice for her. May they be blessed for their courage in speaking out about this injustice and may she finally be allowed to recover from her trauma.
