She Was Asking For It

The Saudi judiciary on Tuesday defended a court verdict that sentenced a 19-year-old victim of a gang rape to six months in jail and 200 lashes because she was with an unrelated male when they were attacked. Oh justice, how dutifully you have been served.

The Shiite Muslim woman had initially been sentenced to 90 lashes after being convicted of violating Saudi Arabia's rigid Islamic law requiring segregation of the sexes, but in considering her appeal of the verdict, the Saudi General Court increased the punishment. It also roughly doubled prison sentences for the seven men convicted of raping the woman, which is also odd relative to the Western idea of law -- can you can the same hand off twice, or do they just take the other?

While the reports triggered an international outcry, the Saudi Ministry of Justice stood by the verdict Tuesday, saying that "charges were proven" against the woman for having been in a car with a man who was not her relative (and shame on her for that). The Ministry implied the victim's sentence was increased because she spoke out to the press. "For whoever has an objection on verdicts issued, the system allows an appeal without resorting to the media". Can you imagine if getting the Rev. Al and Jesse God Squad on your team here actually effected your sentencing?

The attack occurred in 2006, when the victim says she was in a car with a male student she used to know trying to retrieve a picture of her. That's a no-no - isn't taking your picture akin to stealing your soul in their culture? Pre-marital photography must also have a hefty punishment. Woman can't just let everybody see their ankles.

She says two men got into the car and drove them to a secluded area where she was raped by seven men. I have a hard time picturing a woody patch by the highway...was it behind a large sand dune? Horrible as it sounds, I think I may have seen a video with the same thing, minus the burkas and body hair and anti-American extremism. Her friend also was assaulted, but there's really no mention of how the friend ended up in the fracas (that's a gentle way of describing gang rape). Or if she was not with a relative. Or if she had any sentencing. In fact, other than making the story a little sexier, I don't know where the friend falls into the mix.

All you all know, justice in Saudi Arabia is administered by a system of religious courts according to the kingdom's strict interpretation of Islamic law, which just makes sense. Since judges have wide discretion in punishing criminals, rules of evidence are vague and sometimes no defense lawyer is present. The result, critics say, are sentences left to the whim of judges. Oh, that whimsy!

Women in the Middle East (re: Islamic cultures) are nothing more than property, and second rate at that. Your neighbor's goat can still be of value to you, but his woman is damaged goods - go figure. Those damn Zionists give too much freedom to their women, even allowing them to fight in the army. How can they feel that women are both valuable to society and important enough to defend Israel along with their fathers, brothers, husbands, and sons. Oh wait, I agree with that. Oops! Jihad on antiquated systems of law!