Saudi king pardons rape victim

AP/NY Times:

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has pardoned a female rape victim who had been sentenced to 200 lashes for being alone with a man at the time of the attack who was not related to her, a Saudi newspaper reported Monday.

The case had sparked international outcry. In a rare criticism of its Mideast ally, the White House had expressed its ''astonishment'' over the woman's sentence. Canada called it barbaric.

Saudi Justice Minister Abdullah bin Mohammed al-Sheik told al-Jazirah newspaper that the pardon does not mean the king doubted the country's judges, but instead acted in the ''interests of the people.''

''The king always looks into alleviating the suffering of the citizens when he becomes sure that these verdicts will leave psychological effects on the convicted people, though he is convinced and sure that the verdicts were fair,'' al-Jazirah quoted al-Sheik as saying.

...

If the Saudi Justice Minister thinks this decision was "honest and fair" he needs to be replaced. The decision was corrupt on its face. To double a sentence because it has been appealed and to disbar a lawyer for brining an appeal is an act of corruption that is blatant. Besides that, there is absolutely nothing fair about punishing the victim of a horrible crime. Abdullah did the right thing to grant a pardon here, but he should also start an immediate reform of the judiciary in Saudi Arabia so that such ridiculous sentences do not happen again.

CNN has more on the pardon. It is disappointing that the king did not take the opportunity to announce reforms in what is obviously a very sick "Shari'a" justice system. Even in the west there has been reluctance to criticize the cruel and unusual punishments that come from the Shari'a system. This case would have been a good opportunity to push for modernization in the Saudi courts.