As many expected—and more hoped—Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah pardoned ‘Qatif Girl’. As nearly all heads of government, he has the authority to override judicial verdicts if he believes it to be for the greater good.
UPDATE: : Thanks to a commenter for finding the Saudi Press Agency announcement which also states that the male with whom ‘Qatif Girl’ was charged was also pardoned. There
It would have been better had this happened months ago, but at least it has happened.
The Saudi government has made a point of noting that its judiciary is independent from the executive. That’s fine when the judiciary is functioning smoothly and fairly. As this case—and others—show, though, the Saudi judiciary is in dire need of structural reform and more professionalism from its judges. This is something that the King has recognized as he called for a top-to-bottom reform last October.
This action to write a severe wrong will not spare the Saudi government (and, unfortunately, all Saudis) from more criticism. As the various media report the story, they will of course rehash what led up to it. If for no other reason than to save Saudi Arabia’s image abroad, care needs to be taken that judgments like this don’t happen again.
Saudi king pardons teenage rape victim
RIYADH (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has pardoned a teenage girl sentenced to six months in jail and 200 lashes after being gang raped, Al Jazirah newspaper reported on Monday.
The ruling against the 19-year-old girl in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom had attracted widespread international condemnation, including from human rights groups and the White House.
The Arabic language daily said it had been informed of the royal pardon from its own, unidentified, sources.
But in the same article, the kingdom’s Justice Minister Abdullah bin Mohammad bin Ibrahim Al Shaikh told the paper the king had the ‘right to overrule court judgements if he considered it benefiting the greater good.’
The minister added that the king, who is viewed by many as a cautious reformer, was concerned with ‘the needs of the people and the court judgments that are made against them.’
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December:17:2007 - 17:19
Wonderful news.
May the clouds of scented
bakhoor send cumulus showers of judicial reform, and enlightened
judges.
Thank you King Abdullah for a merciful pardon.
Poetic Justice.
December:17:2007 - 17:19
What about the second female victim? I havent read anything about her and the men who were with the two females?
It would be scant justice if the one lady is pardoned, whilst the other three still get their full sentences.
December:17:2007 - 17:19
Abu Sinan: What second female victim? Can you provide a link to any stories about that? I’ve simply never seen any reports about a second female victim.
December:17:2007 - 17:19
Sorry, was confusing this one with a different case. Any word on the man who was with her at the time of the assault?
December:17:2007 - 17:19
We know that the man was sentenced to 90 lashes for khulwa. We know that he did not appeal the verdict. That’s about it.
December:17:2007 - 17:19
I guess the King sent a message without making a scene. We have a saying in my part of the world over actions like this: he killed the snake without breaking the stick.
That said, I would not be surprised if the judiciary fought back with yet another nasty decision. Especially after the all the trouble the Ministry went into to smear the girl’s character.
About the man, in all fairness he should be pardoned too. He was as much a victim of rape as the Girl though obviously lacking her courage in standing up. That said, I suppose the residual message is that if you want justice, you will still have to fight for it. It’s going to be a long haul before you are granted it by law.
December:17:2007 - 17:19
It’s against the law in Saudi Arabia to conduct an affair with a married woman. People like him get punished for that regularly in Saudi Arabia, so why does he deserve some special pardon? He never raised an appeal because he probably knew what he was getting into.
December:17:2007 - 17:19
I have not knowledge of Saudi Arabia’s laws but I have one question. What happens to a women that goes to her doctor and undresses is this against the law too? Does the women only go to female doctors? I think its time for women if they can to stand up for the right of a male being punished for the rape not the female victims.
December:17:2007 - 17:19
Pat: Of preference, Saudi women will go to a female doctor, particularly if the medical matter deals with OB/GYN. If there’s only a male doctor available, then the woman’s husband/guardian is in the room to make sure nothing else is going on. In some cases I’m aware of, the male doctor cannot look at, touch, or even talk to the woman patient directly, but must instead use the guardian to describe what’s the matter.
If that sounds unproductive, it is. But some Saudis are so ‘protective’ of their
chattelwomen that they go to extremes.December:17:2007 - 17:19
Considering that the stethoscope was invented by a French doctor who was too embarrassed to put his ear to the chest of a female patient and listen to her heartbeat as was the custom, who says prohibitions on mingling cannot contribute to medical science…..
December:17:2007 - 17:19
Saudi women see male doctors all the time. It depends on the preference of the woman and/or her husband. This isn’t one of the things the religious police concern them with (or maybe it’s been placed off-limits to them). They’re more concerned with people dating in restaurants or men picking up girls in their cars. In 99% of cases, the man who gets caught is made to sign a pledge not to do it again, and the girl’s family is notified to come pick her up from the precinct. When I lived in Riyadh for two years, nearly every person I knew had at least one “girlfriend”, and many went on dates with different people on a weekly basis. The religious police were seen as more of a nuisance or inconvenience than anything, and their activities waxed and waned periodically, though they are almost non-existent in Jeddah by all accounts. The religious police are fighting a losing battle and I think they know it. So, I don’t think the original verdict in the Qatif case was really about “khulwa”; there must have been other issues at play that complicated matters, and she seems to have found herself in the middle of a larger battle. Plus she belonged to a politically insignificant and socially despised minority.
John did you ever blog on the “Barjass Case” (no relation I’m sure) that occurred in Riyadh in 2004? There are many interesting similarities and differences with this case, and at the time it drew even larger attention inside Saudi Arabia than the Qatif case did.
December:17:2007 - 17:19
The ‘Barjass Case’ involved a young Saudi girl who was raped by a Nigerian driver while two male Saudis captured the assault on their videophone. BBC coverage here
There are similarities, but so few details are presented that it’s hard to know just how similar they are. The disparity in sentences and whether or not a Saudi court convicted them of rape is unclear. Arab News‘ archives aren’t able to pull up their coverage at the time (Jan. 2005). I don’t seem to have blogged that story at the time–at least not that I can find in my own archives!
December:17:2007 - 17:19
What should the Western World’s reaction be to this pardon, if any?
December:17:2007 - 17:19
I’d suggest something along the lines of:
December:17:2007 - 17:19
John:
How do you do the cool gray-text blockquote thingy?
December:17:2007 - 17:19
The King saw sense in preventing a perversion of justice -
That would be taking sides. But I’m sure it’s an improvement from the first thought that came into my mind.
December:17:2007 - 17:19
Apparently the boyfriend was pardoned as well:
http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/071217213754.grt4nu9i.html
http://www.alyaum.com/issue/article.php?IN=12604&I=546492