Date:23/11/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/11/23/stories/2007112355861700.htm

National

Protest at Saudi consulate

Special Correspondent

“Inhuman” interpretation of laws resulted in penalising a victim of gang rape

— Photo: Vivek Bendre

Taking up an issue: Teesta Setalvad of the Citizens for Justice protesting outside the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Mumbai against the alleged inhuman punishment of a rape victim.

MUMBAI: The Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) and other groups staged a silent demonstration at the Saudi Arabian consulate here on Thursday to protest against that country’s “inhuman” interpretation of laws that resulted in penalising a victim of gang rape.

In a memorandum submitted to the Saudi consulate, the CJP said, “We write to express our deep concern at the fate of the 19-year-old female victim of gang rape, initially ordered to undergo 90 lashes for ‘being in the car of an unrelated male at the time of the rape,’ now further sentenced to ‘200 lashes and six months in jail for telling her story to the news media.’”

The CJP said it was equally dismayed that her attorney, Abdulrahman al-Lahim’s licence was first revoked because he disclosed the case to the Saudi-controlled media and now faced a possible three-year suspension and disbarment.

The court last year sentenced the six armed men who attacked the Shiite woman to imprisonment between one and five years. Following a retrial, the jail terms of the six men were increased to between two and nine years’ imprisonment, while the woman was further punished for “her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media.”

The CJP is running an international campaign against this incident which took place in Riyadh.

The Saudi authorities say the trial and sentences are in keeping with the provisions of the Sharia and, therefore, fair.

Under the present system, Saudi Arabia enforces a strict Islamic doctrine that forbids unrelated men and women from associating with each other and bans women from driving. They have to cover themselves head-to-toe in public. Women are required to get a man’s permission to travel or have surgery. Women are not allowed to testify in court unless it is about a private matter that was not observed by a man, and they are not allowed to vote.

On September 7, 2000, Saudi Arabia had become a party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, albeit with reservations.