Gang-Rape Victim Vows to Fight On

Ebtihal Mubarak, Arab News

JEDDAH, 18 November 2007 — Upset with a sentence of 200 lashes and six months in prison, the 19-year-old Saudi gang-rape victim known as “Qatif Girl” is appealing the verdict even as the judge in the case said her sentence could be increased as a result, the woman’s husband told Arab News yesterday.

The woman is charged with being in the company of an unrelated man shortly before she and her companion were brutally gang-raped by seven men, all of whom have been found guilty and sentenced to between two and nine years in prison with lashes for the crime.

In the absence of her lawyer, whose license to practice law was recently revoked by the Qatif General Court, the young woman agreed to fight the verdict.

“She was very determined and strong facing the harsh ruling. Even I was surprised,” said the victim’s husband, whose name is being withheld to protect the woman’s identity.

The husband said the judge warned that if the defendant lost her appeal her sentence could be increased.

The rape victim had already lost a second hearing (which was not considered an appeal) by the Higher Court of Justice, after her lawyer requested they review the ruling of the Qatif General Court, which had sentenced the woman to 90 lashes.

On Wednesday the Higher Court of Justice not only upheld the guilty verdict but also increased the sentence to 200 lashes and six months in prison.

On Saturday the husband (the woman’s legal guardian) is scheduled to receive a copy of the verdict from the Qatif General Court, after which the defendant will have 30 days to file an appeal with the Court of Cassation.

“We have been told that the appeal hearing will take two to three weeks,” said the husband.

The second ruling by the Higher Court of Justice was made after the victim’s lawyer, Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem, managed to get the Higher Court to review the verdict of the Qatif General Court and reverse the verdict. Instead, the court issued the harsher punishment.

“Their argument was that it was the girl’s fault in the first place that (the rape) happened and none of that would have happened if she had not met up with the non-related male friend,” said Al-Lahem, who had his license revoked and was kicked out of the courtroom at the start of the hearing.

Sheikh Fouad Al-Majed, the head of the Qatif General Court that revoked Al-Lahem’s license, referred Arab News to a court administrator to get a response from the court.

“In developed countries the press does not interfere in court cases,” said the administrator. “We have no authority to talk to the press. The media department at the Ministry of Justice is the only one that can go on record.”

The administrator then said he would state his full name for the record on one condition.

“I will give you my full name if I want to propose to you,” he answered.

Arab News could not contact the Ministry of Justice in Riyadh as government offices are closed until Monday due to the OPEC Summit in Riyadh.

Human rights activist Fawziya Al-Oyoni, who was also kicked out of the courtroom with Al-Lahem, said that the victim, who was only 18 years old at the time of her sexual assault, was abducted at knifepoint in front of a shopping mall in Qatif along with a non-related male friend.

Al-Oyoni said that the victim had met the friend to receive some photos of her that he had from a relationship with her when she was 16. She contends that the man had initially threatened to distribute the pictures to shame her.

Then seven young men noticed the two in front of a mall and abducted them, took them to a deserted area and raped them both.

Arab News has learned that the young man is not appealing his sentence out of fear that his punishment, if the verdict were upheld, would be increased.

“The rape victim was denied her right of having her lawyer at the courtroom while announcing the verdict,” said Al-Oyoni. “She has been undergoing hard physical and psychological conditions and severe depression as a result of the horrifying crime.”

As for the reason why Al-Lahem’s license to practice law has been suspended, the court claims insubordination (he allegedly raised his voice to the judge) but the lawyer denies the allegations.

“Unfortunately in today’s practice judges seem to be above the law and almost impossible to question,” said Al-Lahem, who has vowed to fight his own legal battle to reclaim his right to practice law.
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Saudi Arabia: Ministry of Justice should Stop Defamation of Rape Victim

28 Nov 2007 23:29:41 GMT
Source: Human Rights Watch

(New York, November 28, 2007) � The Saudi Ministry of Justice should immediately stop publishing statements aimed at damaging the reputation of a young Saudi rape victim who spoke out publicly about her ordeal and her efforts to find justice, Human Rights Watch said today. In response to international outcry over the case, the Ministry of Justice published two statements on its website on November 20 and 24 alleging that the rape victim confessed to engaging in illicit acts and was undressed in a car prior to the rape. The second statement said that "the main reason the crime took place was because the woman and her companion, who exposed her to this heinous crime, did not follow the law [of prohibited privacy]." The Ministry voiced regret that the media provided an "unjustified defense" of the woman. A representative of the ministry also appeared on television blaming her for the attack and strongly hinting that she had engaged in adultery.

"The Ministry of Justice's response to criticism of its unjust verdict has been appalling," said Farida Deif, researcher in the women's rights division of Human Rights Watch. "First, they attempted to silence this young woman and now they're trying to demonize her in the eyes of the Saudi public."

On November 14, the General Court of Qatif sentenced the young woman to six months in prison and doubled her lashes punishment for "illegal mingling" because she met an unrelated man in his car before a gang of seven men attacked and raped them. An official at the court said that her sentence was increased because of "her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media." Judge Sa'd al-Muhanna also banned the woman's lawyer, Abdul Rahman al-Lahim, from the courtroom and from any future representations of her, for allegedly raising his voice in court. Among the points in the Ministry's charge sheet delivered to al-Lahim on November 19, is that he presented a complaint about the case to the governmental Human Rights Commission.

On November 27, Okaz newspaper published an interview with Judge Dr. Ibrahim bin Salih al-Khudairi of the Appeals Court in Riyadh, in which he said that he would have sentenced her to death. The Riyadh Appeals Court, and possibly Judge al-Khudairi, is the court that will consider an appeal that the Saudi woman said she intends to file. Human Rights Watch said that in light of his statement to the newspaper Judge al-Khudairi must not be allowed to preside over any deliberations in the case. Such extra judicial pronouncements by members of the judiciary undermine both their impartiality and the ability of the victim to have a fair hearing.

On November 24, a participant in a Saudi internet site (www.alsaha.com) published what appear to be parts of the initial verdict rendered in October 2006 in language strongly resembling the brief statement of the Ministry of Justice of November 24, 2007. The woman and her lawyer never received the initial verdict or the November 14 verdict, despite repeated attempts to obtain it. The internet participant wrote that one of the judges in the Qatif General Court is his source. Lawyer al-Lahim has said that the Ministry of Justice statement and, apparently, the verdict, relied on statements provided by the rapists in order to diminish their crime.

Human Rights Watch has repeatedly called on King Abdullah to immediately void the verdict and drop all charges against the rape victim and to order the court to end its harassment of her lawyer.

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Abdullah Pardons ‘Qatif Girl’
Ebtihal Mubarak, Arab News

JEDDAH, 18 December 2007 — The pardon by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah of the 20-year-old rape victim known as “Qatif Girl” yesterday was well received by her husband who wanted to say nothing on the case except to thank the king. Meanwhile, human rights activists also welcomed the news but are calling for specific measures to avert sentencing rape victims in the first place.

“On behalf of my wife and myself we would like to sincerely thank King Abdullah, the king of humanity, for his fatherly gesture,” said the husband whose name has not been published in the media. “That is not strange from King Abdullah who is known for his generosity to his citizens and the Islamic world.”

The husband said he received the good news yesterday morning through a phone call from one of his friends who spotted the news in the early morning. He said that his wife, whose name is also being withheld from publication because of the nature of the crime, is totally relieved now even though she is physically ill and scheduled to have surgery next week.

Human rights activist Fawziya Al-Oyoni, who is based in the Eastern Province, said that the king’s pardon brings some relief to women, but it doesn’t clear the rape victim from being blamed.

“The case should have been looked at again in another court that clears the girl of all charges,” said Oyoni. “A pardon means that she did something wrong and was kindly pardoned later.”

Yesterday, Justice Minister Abdullah Al-Asheikh defended the Higher Court’s decision to increase the punishment of the rape victim to 200 lashes and prison time after her lawyer disputed the Qatif General Court’s original sentence of 90 lashes.

King Abdullah used his authority, said Al-Asheikh, “to diminish people’s suffering when he is sure that such verdicts might leave psychological effects on those who received Shariah sentences, although he is convinced and trusts that the verdicts are just and fair.”

An informed source told Arab News that the Qatif Girl’s 36-year-old lawyer, Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem, would have his law license returned to him after the Eid Al-Adha holidays. Al-Lahem had his license revoked by the Qatif General Court after being accused of taking the case to the media to “confuse the judicial establishment’s image and thus harming the country.”

Riyadh-based lawyer Omar Al-Saab said that although people may consider the pardon a minor victory, it establishes a precedent that tells the courts they are under increased scrutiny. “This is a historic day,” said Saab. “The king’s pardon will send a strong message to judges that they are under surveillance. People are now aware of their rights, they know they have the right to appeal and pursue their rights. Judges will now put in mind that they might face another ‘Al-Lahem’ type of lawyer who will challenge them and not take ‘no’ for answer.”

Al-Lahem declined to comment on the case yesterday.

Human rights activist Oyoni said she is calling for clear legislation that differentiates between rape and adultery. While the royal pardon is good news for the girl from Qatif, Oyoni said it was not a practical solution. “There are many other similar cases that have not received such international exposure,” she said. “Not every case will receive the media attention and not every women will get a royal pardon afterward.”

Oyoni called for strict punishments for rapists. Under the Shariah, rape is a capital crime. In the case of the Qatif Girl, the seven men found guilty of gang rape were sentenced to between two and nine years in prison. Oyoni said strict sentences would send a message to women to come forward and report these crimes to authorities.

Najib Al-Khunaizi, a Saudi activist and columnist from the Eastern Province, said that the royal pardon had come as a relief to the girl, her husband and her family, but that he hoped this case would lead to concrete reform. “It is very crucial now more than ever to form a legal corpus that prevents differences and contradictions among similar cases that receive different verdicts from one judge to the other,” he said.

He said that Justice Minister Asheikh’s comment that called the verdict “just” could create misunderstanding from the international community’s point of view.

“(The minister) should have said that they would review the case against both the girl and her assaulters,” said Khunaizi. “Until now they have not said what would happen to the rapists who are the core of the problem.”

The case stems from an incident in 2006 when seven men abducted and gang-raped the Qatif Girl, who was 19 at the time. Three judges from the Qatif General Court sentenced the rape victim to 90 lashes for being in the car of an unrelated male at the time of the rape, committing “isolation” (khulwa). It is illegal in Saudi Arabia for women to mingle with unrelated men in the absence of their legal male guardian.
According to both her husband and her lawyer, the rape victim had met the male friend to receive a photo of her that he had from a relationship they had had when she was 16. She wanted the picture returned because she was about to be married. She contends that the man had threatened to distribute the pictures and shame her.