Saudi court sentences 75-year-old woman to lashes

“A group of people are misusing religion to serve their own interests.”

The Saudi doctor couldn't have said it any better.

The sentencing of a 75-year-old widow to 40 lashes and four months in prison

first of all will she survive 40 lashes? seems too cruel.

Religious and political extremists putting the "mental" in fundamental.

“A group of people are misusing religion to serve their own interests.”

Well, that's what happens when you allow religion to rule.

Being from Syria and being as her Saudi husband is dead, is it some kind of surprise she does not have loads of immediate male relatives to care for her? Just how retarded does one have to be to not see the problem there?

Sawadi had told the court that she considered al-Anzi is her son, because she breast-fed him when he was a baby. But the court denied her claim, saying she didn’t provide evidence.

What evidence could there be? These retards want pictures or something?

The sentence should be carried out...on the morons running this court.

first of all will she survive 40 lashes? seems too cruel.

They're religious nutcases. Do you think they care?

“A group of people are misusing religion to serve their own interests.”

Whose interests could possibly be served by lashing an old woman?

And do the two young men who were presumably equally 'guilty' of mingling with a female who was not an immediate relative, get off scot free? Or are they going to be punished too, for giving bread to an old lady?

And this country is supposedly our 'friend', while Afghanistan and Iran are an Axis of Evil??

Those lashes will not even heal in the four months she is in some dirty filthy prison.

The lashes are not a Captain Bligh on the Bounty style bloodletting, the whipping is a ritual humilation; blood is not allowed to be drawn, and the 'whipper' must wedge a copy of the Koran under his whipping arm, ensuring that his arm movement and thus the blows are quite restricted.

To a couple of quick comments regarding this:

Firstly, I think it is wonderful that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is putting a cap on western influence and working hard to maintain the old ways. As the British used to say, "you cannot get the servants getting ideas beyond their station." What would happen if this woman actually had access to basic legal process and rights? The sky would fall in!

Secondly, it has to be remembered that the current ruling elite in Saudi Arabia represent our allies in the war on errorism, sorry terrorism. What a fine bunch of chaps. Just imagine what sentence this woman would get if a certain cave-dwelling troll was in power.

The Saudi court only implements islamic law. It is their religious duty. This is what God wants, it says so in the Koran and the Haddith. What are we to complain?

Wanderlust:

" and the 'whipper' must wedge a copy of the Koran under his whipping arm "

LOL! If he did that he would have to be executed in turn for desecrating the holy Koran. But you know that, of course. Thanks for a good laugh.

The sentencing of a 75-year-old widow to 40 lashes and four months in prison

And Saudi Arabia is considered a moderate Muslim nation.

This really is a sick country where humans are treated worse than animals. Would these righteous moslims beat their dogs or camels? I doubt it. I suppose the Koran does not say anything about profiteering or living off and with modern day goods manufactured and provided by evil western nations. Or maybe these sections have been edited. Shocking news - again, from this part of the world.

Cleo, the article reports that both men were also sentenced to a jail term and to lashes.

Helter Skelter, Saudi Arabia is considered an ultraconservative Muslim nation, not a moderate one. It imposes a version of the Sharia (Wahabbism) not accepted by Muslims in other countries. Have you read of the woman arrested for driving and the condoning of child brides by the chief cleric of Saudi Arabia? Both have been in the news in the past month.

It imposes a version of the Sharia (Wahabbism) not accepted by Muslims in other countries."

PLease list them.

"blood is not allowed to be drawn, and the 'whipper' must wedge a copy of the Koran under his whipping arm, ensuring that his arm movement and thus the blows are quite restricted." Well, now doesn't that just make one feel better? I am sure at 75, she'll feel something!

Have you read of the woman arrested for driving and the condoning of child brides by the chief cleric of Saudi Arabia?" Or what about the 9 yo bride in Yemen? I guess things aren't so limited to SA.

Saudi Arabia is considered an ultraconservative Muslim nation, not a moderate one

Mayuki, moderate is a relative term when it comes to Islamic regimes. The atrocities committed in Afganistan under the Taliban, Gaza under Hamas, the Sudan under the state-sponsored Janjaweed, etc., are far worse than Saudi Arabia.

These types of situations are very saddening, but it happens. Perhaps other more moderate Muslim states can show ways to avoid this.

Well now that it is in the news the king will probably commute her sentence. This king has relaxed alot of restriction and has even appointed a women to minister.

Now I no all to well how the mutawa work. Just last week I had a run in with them for working during prayer. Actually it was during the call I had my hands full just outside the door. As soon as they found out I was American the mood changed quickly. Out of the three of them one was very polite and professional. The other two were a little slow realizing this.

The atrocities committed in Afganistan under the Taliban, Gaza under Hamas, the Sudan under the state-sponsored Janjaweed, etc., are far worse than Saudi Arabia.

Right on the Taliban, wrong on Hamas, only partially right on Sudan. I'm sure if you are not part of the non-Arab separatists who are at war with the government, life is probably pretty good in Sudan, relative to Saudi Arabia.

DXJP: I don't get your point. Are you saying that we are overreacting? Also, I thought you stated you were in the military, are not in uniform? (Or am I mistaking you for a different poster?)

Anyway, I had always felt that religion has no place in law, except for the 7 commandments - those are the common sense ones. The other three are worthless!

All those imans telling our modern western ways are wrong. I agree, let's get back to the 12th century and start a crusade of mega proportions we can have a new boyband the Templar boys. "we want you, we want you as a new recruit! join the templars"

Wanderlust: The lashes are not a Captain Bligh on the Bounty style bloodletting, the whipping is a ritual humilation; blood is not allowed to be drawn, and the 'whipper' must wedge a copy of the Koran under his whipping arm, ensuring that his arm movement and thus the blows are quite restricted.

I read there are no clearly laid out procedures. Anything is possible. Consider her age and gender, I suspect the lashings will be painful but not potentially fatal. But like I said earlier, they are going to whip the wrong people.

this lashing youngs girls being married as young as nine a young lady in an Iranian jail for being sold a bottle of wine (turned in by the guy who sold it but nothing for him) a teacher being jailed for kids naming a teddy bear Mohammad a lady gets gang raped then is jailed and then stoned a widowed lady accused of having premarital sex stoned forced attendance to Mosques

Yet, so many feel they know the way.

Our friends, the Saudis. Notable for being the spiritual home of Wahabism and as the birthplace of the vast majority of 9/11 terrorists. But they were very nice to let us have military bases there for so long and for being so tractable with the oil supply.

You'd think a 75-year-old lady would have better sense than to mingle with unrelated men. Obviously our friends cannot let this breach of faith go unanswered. O! the shock and awe of 40 lashes!

skipthesong, one issue at a time please. I find that there are almost always particulars that were not given enough attention in our western press. That is because if they included those details, we would not get so worked up about it. And not getting us worked up is the same thing as getting less revenue.

DXXJP: Well now that it is in the news the king will probably commute her sentence. This king has relaxed alot of restriction and has even appointed a women to minister.

If he does, will it make the headlines in the numbers this story did? I am not going to hold my breath. Our press is not going to blare: Saudi is not so bad after all.

We shouldn´t gloat too much about the strangeness of Shariah law. The more the West appeases islamic demands, the closer we get to Sharia ourselfes. Add the demographic factor (birthrates and immigration), and it is safe to say that in a couple of generations the same thing will happen in Europe and the US.

hat is because if they included those details, we would not get so worked up about it. And not getting us worked up is the same thing as getting less revenue" NO doubt, but that is not limited to this issue either.

I've been there on more than one occasion, unlike many here, and to a few of its neighboring countries. I have seen enough to make me angry. Yes, there was a lot of fine things there too. Take religion out of the equation, and the places are great for the most part.

The people aren't bad, being ruled by religion is.

Punishments like this will soon occur in the no-go parts of major European cities. They already have a disturbing rise in the number of 'honor killings.'

It's Shariah. Get used to it. Many on the Left argue for its acceptance outside of hellholes like Saudi Arabia, where Islamic social engineering endlessly repeats its tragic cycles.

I have been here for two years now. I don't live in a compound, and I don't have any foreign ( US, UK, ect. ) friends. I live, and work ( No I'm not military), in Jeddah. I have my own car, and live on my own. To tell you the truth its a hell of a lot safer than japan as far as walking the streets. I have never been in a confrontation and nobody has been aggressive to me.

You have to remember that the laws here were started by the Bedouins. These were in some instances put in place to keep women faithful and out of bounds for other men. Look at it this way, if you were a goat herder way out in the sand and you had a wife maybe the only female for a 100 miles how far would you go to protect whats yours. Killing another man for looking? yes that happens, but they also feel that women can entice men. We all know women do this weather they are beautiful or even with their actions. So the Bedouin have kept these practices and laws in place. Your out of your mind if you think everybody lives in a house here. The Bedouin still roam around with there stock, wives, kids, and possessions. Its their right just like it was the right of the American Indians. We all know to well what happened to them from our imposed laws and whims.

What if the US was still run by puritans do you think the laws would be any different. What about witch hunts and suspicions, that was enough to get you killed back then. Like posted above the story is not the complete story, she will not be whipped like Christ, its to humiliate. I don't know anything about the breastfeeding laws but if that's true I could be kin to a few women here.

Another point to make is that the mutawa ( the guys on patrol) are dictated what is acceptable and what isn't. Here in Jeddah its relatively relaxed. I will be moving to Riyadh in two weeks, that's the strictest place in Saudi. Ill get along fine because I'm not a ignorant American running around demanding people respect me because I am American. I prefer to obey the rules and laws and go undetected as much as possible. I am afforded more privileges than the locals because I am an American, but I don't test the line. I can be with another woman as long as she is christian and we are not frolicking around in the streets, how ever if she is Muslim then there are precautions we must take.

I think a lot of you are going off on something you have no experience with or secondhand BS news about the place. I'm really stumped how someone can post time and again how the 911 terrorist were Saudi how that makes all Saudis evil, yet you all forget what country Timothy McVeigh was from, or the uni bomber, how about the Washington sniper, or even where the anthrax came from.

I would suggest you clean your own yard before you tell your neighbor to clean his. Also were here posting on s Japanese site and everyday we see how well people post about the Japanese so I guess its not that far out of line to see people go off on the Saudis. I'm not saying there angels, I sure aint, but I prefer to see for myself first hand before I make a judgment.

DXXJP at 08:31 PM JST - 10th March

Thanks for that informative post. I still don't agree with the sentence, but its nice to hear someone telling people to calm down and have a look at things; like the mirror.

DXXJP:

" I'm really stumped how someone can post time and again how the 911 terrorist were Saudi how that makes all Saudis evil, yet you all forget what country Timothy McVeigh was from, or the uni bomber "

Strawman! It is not about "Saudi", it is about Wahabi islam (which every Saudi citizen belongs to by decree). And yes, all of he 9/11 bombers and other jihadists take their commands from the Koran, which is the constitution of Saudi Arabia.

Neither TimV nor the Unabomber had any religion that commanded them to do this and promised them paradise in return.

Good for you that you enjoy your sheltered expat life, but would do well in reading up on the religion/ideology of the land before opining more.

DXXJP:

What if the US was still run by puritans do you think the laws would be any different.

But it isn't, and it hasn't been for a long time.

What about witch hunts and suspicions, that was enough to get you killed back then.

That was wrong too, and it's well in the past. What point are you trying to make?

I can be with another woman as long as she is christian and we are not frolicking around in the streets, how ever if she is Muslim then there are precautions we must take.

Good luck to you if you ever get caught.

how ever if she is Muslim then there are precautions we must take." And you'd have to do that back in Chicago too....

But good on you for letting us know what it's like these days. I didn't like it back in 91 and 92..

What! Only 40 lashes and 4 months in prison for mingling with not one, but two young men?

Likeitis

Im not saying its right but I guess for a place that's only been a country for the past 60 years its a lot more advanced that the US was in its first 60. I don't have to live here I can go anywhere else in the world, but to condemn everyone, well like you said "mirror"

Like I said Im not defending the issue, I have issues with it and other craziness here, but as I said for only being a country for 60 years or so it could be a lot worse. I suppose everyone would prefer it to be like Dubai, you know booze flowing, strip bars, drugs, and the occasional " Put a bunch of Bengali in the elevator and see if its safe or not" ( just a few months ago this happened in Dubai. IIRC 4 were killed or injured in the 40 something story fall)

Yeah UAE what kind of Islam do they teach.

I wonder how Saudi diplomats and businessmen abroad get away with "mingling" with females who are not their immediate family ... do they all get arrested and sentenced to lashes when they get back home?

Vagante:

" do they all get arrested and sentenced to lashes when they get back home? "

What females? Infidel women can arguably be considered as "slave girls", and "possessing" them expressly allowed in Wahabi islam. If they transgress on muslim females, it is a different matter of course.

Vagante- No of course not. Only women are capable of sexual immorality. Men are holy vessels and women are unclean. That's what you get when you live in a misogynistic culture that believes a woman is only as good as who shes married to, a wife's only good for serving her husband and popping out babies, affairs are always the woman's fault, and educating women is a waste of time. That's Saudi Arabia for you... wait, sounds like another place too...

I'm sure that we all realize that the "charms" of a 75 y/o is sort of like fanticizing about your grandmother. It's just not happening. No matter what you think of Wahabi Islam the religious police have really gone over the top again. To take a simple act of charity by a relative and turn it into some sort of excapade is unbelieveable. Unless that is what the religous police get up to with their own grandmothers. Ewwww!

I wonder how Saudi diplomats and businessmen abroad get away with "mingling" with females who are not their immediate family ... do they all get arrested and sentenced to lashes when they get back home?

You do realize that the laws are not of or by the people. This place is a monarchy. Of course its not illegal, but just smoking a joint in japan will get you arrested it wont in Amsterdam. Are people here really that ignorant, come on read a book or better yet the Saudi gazette is online.

The Saudi Sharia law is stone age mentality and morality. Come on what threat is a 75 year old widow to all Saudi macho men? A real man does not need to beat or imprison women for stupid reasons.

The Arabs need to revise their archaic religious laws and come into the current world. I'm not saying they should allow strip clubs and bars on every corner but lighten up.