How merciful of him to let her off:

King Abdullah pardons “Qatif Girl”

http://www.saudiembassy.net/2007News/News/GovDetail.asp?cIndex=7582

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz has issued a royal decree pardoning a Saudi woman who was a victim of kidnapping and rape and sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison, Minister of Justice Dr. Abdullah Al-Ashaikh announced today to Saudi TV.

Saudi King Pardoned Girl to Show Muslim Mercy

http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Saudi_King_Pardoned_Girl_to_Show_Muslim_Mercy_11899.html

Although the pardoning of the raped girl by Saudi Arabia’s King was widely regarded as a response to the increasing external pressure, a Saudi human rights activist said this was actually not the case.

Muflih al- Qahtani, spokesman for Saudi Arabia's National Society for Human Rights told Deutsche Presse-Agentur that the main factor, if not the only one, which determined King Abdullah to pardon the 19-year-old is linked with the holiday which the Muslims are celebrating this month. The annual haj pilgrimage has started today in Mecca and during this period every Muslim must be merciful among other requirements.

"The king's decision was not responding to influences from abroad, but his decision is simply addressing a public interest," Muflih al- Qahtani said.

Saudi court ups punishment for gang-rape victim

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/11/17/saudi.rape.victim/index.html

(CNN) -- A court in Saudi Arabia increased the punishment for a gang-rape victim after her lawyer won an appeal of the sentence for the rapists, the lawyer told CNN.

The 19-year-old victim was sentenced last year to 90 lashes for meeting with an unrelated male, a former friend from whom she was retrieving photographs. The seven rapists, who abducted the pair, received sentences ranging from 10 months to five years in prison.

Exclusive: Saudi Rape Victim Tells Her Story

http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=3899920&page=1

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Justice is defending a sentence of 200 lashes for the victim of a gang rape, punished because she was in the car of a male who wasn't a relative when the two were attacked.

In exclusive testimony obtained by ABC News, the young woman told her story of what happened and how she was treated in the months that followed.

"Everyone looks at me as if I'm wrong. I couldn't even continue my studies. I wanted to die. I tried to commit suicide twice," she said of her experience just after the attack.

The woman, known anonymously in the Saudi press as "Qatif Girl" for the eastern province town where the crime took place, was originally sentenced to 90 lashes for being in a state of "khalwa" -- retreat with a male who's not a relative.

But the General Court of Qatif increased the punishment to 200 lashes and six months in jail after she took her case to the press. Authorities deemed it an "attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media," according to Saudi Arabia's English-language newspaper Arab News.

The seven attackers were convicted of rape with sentences that ranged from two to nine years in prison, according to Arab News.

In a December 2006 interview in Khobar, Saudi Arabia the woman gave a full account of her testimony to Human Rights Watch, describing the incident as she did before the court. She was meeting a male acquaintance, a former boyfriend, when the attack took place.


Ordeal Began With a Photo
"I [was] 19 years old. I had a relationship with someone on the phone. We were both 16. I had never seen him before. I just knew his voice. He started to threaten me, and I got afraid. He threatened to tell my family about the relationship. Because of the threats and fear, I agreed to give him a photo of myself," she recounted.

"A few months [later], I asked him for the photo back but he refused. I had gotten married to another man. He said, 'I'll give you the photo on the condition that you come out with me in my car.' I told him we could meet at a souk [market[ near my neighborhood city plaza in Qatif.

"He started to drive me home. …We were 15 minutes from my house. I told him that I was afraid and that he should speed up. We were about to turn the corner to my house when they [another car] stopped right in front of our car. Two people got out of their car and stood on either side of our car. They man on my side had a knife. They tried to open our door. I told the individual with me not to open the door, but he did. He let them come in. I screamed.

"One of the men brought a knife to my throat. They told me not to speak. They pushed us to the back of the car and started driving. We drove a lot, but I didn't see anything since my head was forced down."

"They took us to an area … with lots of palm trees. No one was there. If you kill someone there, no one would know about it. They took out the man with me, and I stayed in the car. I was so afraid. They forced me out of the car. They pushed me really hard ... took me to a dark place. Then two men came in. They said, 'What are you going to do? Take off your abaya.' They forced my clothes off. The first man with the knife raped me. I was destroyed. If I tried to escape, I don't even know where I would go. I tried to force them off but I couldn't. [Another] man … came in and did the same thing to me. I didn't even feel anything after that.

Thanks, I was wondering how to blame this one on the west. 

FD, once again your are being deliberately misleading, or ignorant. I suspect a bit of both.

The girl was never charged for 'getting herself raped'. How bout you actually read the links you provided  before posting them.

jordan484 wrote on Aug 8^th, 2008 at 12:49pm:


Almost as bad as getting locked up for giving your sim card to your cousin.

The things people do today huh. Outrageous.

PS. Lovely deflection.

There was an Islamic joke thread?

Damn!

freediver wrote on Aug 8^th, 2008 at 2:09pm:


that is the law in Saudi Arabia. If you don't like it, then don't go.

However, you don't do yourself any credibilitly when you deliberately mislead people with your posts.

Your thread title is misleading? Whats wrong, cant you make your point without lieing about it? Are you a compulsive liar or is it only a symptom of your bigotry?

Being charged with 'allowing to be raped' is a bit different then being in a car with a man who is not your mahram.

That is the law in Saudi.

There are plenty of practises that you do that I'm sure the majority of the world feel are pretty barbaric. Like your bigotry maybe????

that is the law in Saudi Arabia. If you don't like it, then don't go.

Yes of course, who am I to criticise? If it's the law, it must be accepted, right? So I will refrain from visiting until they stop whipping loose women.