Corpun file 17741

Arab News, Riyadh/Jeddah/Dhahran, 7 June 2006

Judge Hands Down Guilty Verdict in Rahaf Case

By Lulwa Shalhoub
Arab News

(extract)

JEDDAH — A court in Taif on Monday found the defendant guilty in the first high-profile domestic abuse case in the Kingdom.

The stepmother of six-year-old Rahaf was sentenced to three months in prison and 50 lashes for brutally beating her stepdaughter causing bruises and slashes on her back.

"I believe that the verdict is fair and it was announced in the presence of all parties in the case," Rahaf's lawyer, Mohamed Al-Salmi, told Arab News.

"The stepmother confessed that she abused Rahaf, and since confession is the mother of all evidence, it is sufficient to justify the verdict."

Rahaf's father was acquitted because there was no evidence to prove that he was a party to the abuse.

Al-Salmi said the stepmother's lawyer, Mohamed Al-Honaini, is expected to appeal the ruling after the judge, Abdurrahman Al-Fatta, issues the official document of the verdict. If the appeals court approves Al-Fatta's ruling, the defendant will go to jail.

Al-Salmi said this case is significant because it will pave way for other domestic abuse cases to appear out in the open in courts.

Victims will be now bolder to file lawsuits against their abusers, he added.

[...]

Corpun file 17751

News24.com, South Africa, 12 June 2006

Two get 150 lashes over abaya

A court in the Saudi holy city of Mecca has sentenced two youths to five years' hard labour and 150 lashes each for removing a woman's abaya, the Saudi newspaper Arab News reported on Monday.

The woman's abaya - the long black robe that Saudi women must wear by law outside the home - was removed at a shopping complex where one of the youths worked.

Police said one of the youths encouraged the other to strip the young woman of the garment.

The woman complained to local police who immediately arrested the suspects.

Saudi Arabia applies a strict interpretation of the Islamic law, segregates sexes and stipulates a strict dress code. - Sapa-dpa

Corpun file 17787

Arab News, Riyadh/Jeddah/Dhahran, 23 June 2006

1,000 Lashes and Jail Sentence for Robber

RIYADH, 23 June 2006 — A court in Riyadh has sentenced an armed robber to five years imprisonment and ordered he be given 1,000 lashes for a series of armed robberies in the city, Al-Eqtisadiah, a sister publication of Arab News, reported yesterday.