Jeddah: Woman who was Raped Sentenced to Prison, 100 lashes

According to the judge, the woman is guilty of adultery and of accepting a ride from a stranger. Following her rape, she became pregnant, and will finish her pregnancy in prison. The one hundred lashes will be given after her baby is born.

JEDDAH (AsiaNews/Agencies) - 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.

Following the rape, the woman became pregnant; she was eight weeks pregnant when she went to the military King Fahd Hospital. According to the judge, the woman is guilty of "adultery" simply because she is not married, and she has been sentenced to a year in prison.

The hundred lashes will be given after she delivers the baby; the child will take his mother's last name. In Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to drive, and can ride in a car only if they are accompanied by a husband or relative. In recent days, Saudi princess Amira al-Tawil, wife of prince Al Walid Bin Talal, had defended the right to drive for all women in the country.