Jeddah, gang-raped woman sentenced to prison, one hundred lashes

ICC Note

A Saudi woman is sentenced to prison and one hundred lashes because she was raped by five men. Saudi Arabia applies Sharia law that violates basic rights such as freedom of religion and rights of women.

02/14/2009 Saudi Arabia (Asia News)-The victim of sexual violence after which she became pregnant, a 23-year-old Saudi woman has been condemned to one year in prison, and 100 lashes. The news has been reported by the Saudi newspaper Saudi Gazette, which says that the judge punished the woman because she is guilty of “adultery,” having accepted “a ride from a stranger.” The man and his friends abused her the entire night.

The court of the district of Jeddah handed down the sentence after the unmarried woman “confessed to having forced intercourse with a man who offered her a ride.” According to the young woman’s testimony, he took her to a house east of Jeddah, and, together with four friends, abused her the entire night.