More atrocity is in store for rape victims in Saudi Arabia. Recently, a female victim of gang rape was found guilty and sentenced to 90 lashes for violating the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)’s law of segregation of the sexes.
The rape victim sat in an automobile with an old school friend who was male, making her the bad guy in the eyes of the Islamic Sharia Law of gender segregation.
In 2006, the victim was attempting to retrieve a photograph from a male high school friend, and then two other men got in the car, drover her and her friend out to a secluded area, where five other men met them.
The victim was raped by the seven men. Sources claimed that the victim’s friend was “attacked” by the assailants, but no one knew if he was beaten, raped or both.
The victim’s lawyer, Abdul Rahman al-Lahem pleaded the international community to help free is client, but his appeal backfired. The victim’s punishment only intensified from 90 to 200 lashes, along with a six month prison sentence for “good measure”.
According to the KSA Ministry of Justice, the victim’s sentence was increased because her lawyer sought out help from the world’s news outlets. According to the government’s official Saudi Press Agency:
“For whoever has an objection on verdicts issued, the system allows to appeal without resorting to the media.”
The statement also said that the “charges were proven” against the woman for being in a car with a male who isn’t a blood relative, and repeated criticism for here lawyer talking “defiantly” about the judicial system.
So where does the Saudi judiciary stand when it comes to rape victims? In July, a Norwegian woman was raped by her colleague in Dubai and charged for extramarital sex, drinking alcohol and perjury. Although she was pardoned from her 16-month prison sentence, it clearly shows that they somehow are able to look past sexual violence and show perpetrators can be protected. [Source]
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