Saudi gang rape sentence 'unjust'

[emad]

Source: BBC News

A lawyer for a gang-rape victim in Saudi Arabia who was sentenced to 200 lashes and six-months in jail says the punishment contravenes Islamic law.

The woman was initially punished for violating laws on segregation of the sexes - she was in an unrelated man's car at the time of the attack.

When she appealed, judges doubled her sentence, saying she had been trying to use the media to influence them.

Her lawyer has been suspended from the case and faces a disciplinary session.


Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7098480.stm

---

Saudi segregation laws pretty much an affront to most Muslim countries.

Muslim Women Lawyers' Association Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi has campaigned vociferously for change.

Maybe if they made her UN Secretary General things would start moving in Saudi, the ultimate hell-hole country for women's legal rights.

[emad]

1. Meanwhile Saudi Ambassador to London in the dock on £3 million spending binge charges:

including an array of firearms:

Hey big spender: the £3m spree that landed a Saudi prince in a London court:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/saudi/story/0,,2212067,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront

SNIP:
A Beretta pistol (€6,761) also figures on the list, along with a Cartier watch (€27,000) and antique guns, shotgun, and swords (€66,000).

.....................

A large selection of guns also figure on the alleged invoices These include two Czech CZ75D and CZ97B pistols, a French Famas assault rifle and a Micro-Uzi machine gun of Israeli origin. The Austrian Glock 18C "special tactical weapon" is described in one advertisement as "particularly popular with VIP security personnel. Nothing stops an assassination attempt faster than a hail of 9mm bullets.
ENDSNIP



IN Saudi women are legally barred from holding or using firearms. Maybe in case they defend themselves against rapists or other attackers.

[SteppingRazor]

3. $10,000 for a Beretta?!

:wtf:

[emad]

4. Saudis pay top dollar!

renowned for it...
?

[Pachamama]

7. If its gold plated and diamond studded....

:eyes:

[kirby]

8. That is only 100 bbl of oil... n/t

[immoderate]

14. There are Berettas and then there are...

Berettas!




--IMM

[Mojorabbit]

20. That is a beautiful

berreta.

[immoderate]

21. I'm guessing you mean the top one.

Anyway that's my pick. Though it's a matter of taste, the commemorative is not my favorite.

Interestingly, (or not) I own a Browning Hi-Power, and it's mainly the way it looked that got me into it in the first place.

--IMM

[Mojorabbit]

33. Yes the top one

the third one is a bit tacky speaking as a woman, it is a bit too much. :)

[immoderate]

36. I can't picture a Marine totin' that one either.

Some customized weapons are beautiful works of art. The commemoratives sometimes are a bit over the top. They're intended for display, although they work like any other.

That first one is out of the Beretta custom shop, and I agree that it's a beauty.

--IMM

[indepat]

2. The Saudis: what a swell bunch of fellas,

[Hydra]

5. Our allies and friends in the "War on Terror"

:puke:

[Teaser]

6. Our good friends

fuck them.

[KnaveRupe]

9. Where are the exploding wingnut-heads?

We are at war with Islamic extremism!!1!OMGZ!!!1111!!!

We all knew about the IOKIYAR* rule, but this is the first I'm hearing about the IOKIYSA** corollary.


* - "It's OK If You're A Republican"
** - "It's OK If You're Saudi Arabia"

[Prophet 451]

10. No shit, Captain Obvious? n/t

[w4rma]

11. Apparantly it's not obvious to the Saudi rulers and judges. (nt)

[Prophet 451]

13. "There are none so blind"...

Seriously, why are we still doing business with this lot? I understand we need oil but there are lots of countries with oil which aren't run by repressive theocracies.

[ThomCat]

12. They get prison. She gets prison and 200 lashes?

She's the victim, and they're going to kill her with 200 lashes. x(

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[a la izquierda]

15. holy crap.

and these are our friends. good grief.

[Clive2]

27. "friends"

"friends"

[LadyAziz]

16. Sickening!

It's always the woman's fault
:sarcasm:

In many Muslim countries the woman gets punished more severely than the men who rape them. The are treated as objects to be used and discarded. Even in those countries that claim to be "modern" Middle Eastern countries. Also, if the victim is a foreigner the courts will take the side of the national no matter what (it's much worse for non-europeans).

The al Sauds have such a powerful grip on SA society, I don't understand why anyone would want to live there. Women from powerful families do as they please but the rest are doomed in that hell-hole.

[aquart]

18. Our buddies.

[yellowcanine]

19. But Bush has looked into their souls and pronounced them soul brothers.

How can this be?

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

22. Ahhh our ever loving friends..

But hey they sure got sweet oil...

How I long for a candidate who is *serious* about clean energy and energy independence..

[superconnected]

24. It's be nice if the oil would finally run out already.

but alas, it won't.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

26. I dont wish for it to run out any time soon

Cold turkey on oil will lead to very bad things

1) War, and allot of it and as conventional war needs oil that only leaves one other kind...
2) People freezing to death all over the world, even here at home
3) Massive proliferation of nuclear plants in the US

Better to just ease off of it, but I don't think folks in DC have it in them.. Withdrawal can be a really ugly experience..

[superconnected]

23. Only someone who hates humanity could be friends with that nation. BUSH.

[LeftishBrit]

25. I hope there's a LOT of protest about this...

The human rights violations in some countries are just so tragic and sickening; and so often even worse for the female 50% of the population.

[superconnected]

28. When there's human right violations its always worse for the females.

And every society that supresses womens rights, kills gays.

[Sean Stuart]

29. Upon doubling her sentence, the judge said:

"(T)he feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians."

Oh no, wait. That was Pat Robertson.

This is what happens when religious fanatics (or if they prefer, "Dominionists") run a country.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

32. gud ole pat would fit right in there.

the more archaic and fanatical they become, the more similar they seem.

[TheWraith]

30. Isn't maximum legal punishment under Quran law something like 50 lashes for murder?

I vaguely recall reading that awhile back.

Just goes to show that their nutcases are as much based on their holy book as ours are on the bible.

[AX10]

31. I want an alternative energy source so that I can live to...

see the Saudi's drink their worthless oil!

:puke:

[slackmaster]

37. Same here

I'd like to see every US citizen pulled from the entire region, every business relationship that has anything to do with energy severed.

[JerseygirlCT]

41. Oh yes. I'm so with you! nt

[Orsino]

34. First rule of Saudi justice: don't talk about Saudi justice. n/t

[ohio2007]

35. Brit speaks his mind

Some day the religious cops and thought police will get him

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ead_1195057244

[progressivebydesign]

38. Wow.. And Bandar "Bush" is an esteemed pal of the US, right?

Don't you love how countries like Saudi Arabia and China, with disgusting human rights violations, are considered the bestest friends of the Bush family, and capitalists everywhere. It's just disgusting. And we are enriching them...

[panzerfaust]

39. Ah. Our Allies.

Her original merciful punishment (for being raped) was only 90 lashes and no jail time.

Now look what she made them do: 200 lashes, 6 months.

Allah (The Just) be Praised.

[Progressive Friend]

40. The Saudis are the Neocon's "forces of moderation" in the Middle East (i.e. US puppets)

They also publicly behead 'criminals' as well.

[NuttyFluffers]

42. yeah, Saudi authority does get its crazy on quite regularly

when i initially saw this issue a few weeks (months?) ago my first internal response was, "oh shit, whoever publicized this just made things worse." Saudi is a place where saving face is of huge importance and any iota of neglect in social propriety is punished with an overwhelmingly heavy hand. you'll be surprised that she might've gotten off easier if nothing was said; there's a lot of backroom dealing there.

from our perspective nothing should've happened to her, naturally, but this punishment is supposed to be a great shaming to her male family members (and women if they support any women's lib ideas), while reinforcing the social order publicly, and absolutely leaving an impression that such a thing shall never, ever be tolerated to happen again. the conception of not allowing the female family members being 'protected' by the male family members is almost incomprehensible culturally. to circumvent their 'protection' in any way is to shun their love, disregard yourself into degredation, shame the family & clan, render impotent the men, cast doubt on any virtuous reputation of the women, and declare ignorance and immorality of not only yourself, but your family, clan, and ancestors. it's stupid harsh to us, but it's a deeply held regional desert notion, as intertwined into the social fabric as desert hospitality itself.

it's a pretty alien world view for many here. but if any of you wanted to know, that's what it's like. that peninsula has been a very harsh land for millenia and it definitely left an impression on the people. when you are mere dust in a world of timeless sand it changes you, you don't change it. some things we could not even fathom here becomes second nature survival in such 'moonscapes.' to change that part of arabia will take far more than mere trinkets and popular ideas recent history has provided.