blogolob

The horrific story of the 19 year old Saudi woman who was gang-raped and then sentenced to 200 lashes by the Saudi authorities after she refused to keep silent about her ordeal is recounted by Daniel Howden in The Independent.

Reading Daniel Howden’s article, one learns that, as a result of this case, the young woman’s lawyer, Saudi Arabia’s foremost human rights advocate, has been suspended and has had his passport confiscated, that the Saudi Justice Ministry has launched a deliberate “campaign of defamation” against the girl and that her own brother has reportedly tried to kill her.

As a result of her refusal to keep silent, her punishment has been doubled by the Saudi Authorities. What’s really angered them is the massive overseas publicity this case has generated. Frankly, I’m not surprised. This horrific story and the way that the Saudi authorities have dealt with this unfortunate young woman and indeed their attitude to women in general just reminds the rest of the world, if a reminder was needed, what a primitive, violent and sick country Saudi Arabia is.

If it wasn’t for the oil, what free and democratic country would want anything to do with them? The fact that we do trade so extensively with them should give us no pride whatsoever.

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