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URGENT ACTION
Saudi Arabia: Flogging / Legal concern
PUBLIC
AI Index: MDE 23/013/2007
16 March 2007
UA 69/07 Flogging/ legal concern
SAUDI ARABIA A 19-year-old woman (name not known)
At least five men (names not known)
A 19-year-old woman, known only as "The Girl from al-Qatif", and at least five
men, are at risk of imminent flogging. Amnesty International believes that the
use of corporal punishment constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading
punishment.
The woman, from the city of al-Qatif in eastern Saudi Arabia, was convicted of
being alone in private with a man who was not a member of her immediate family
(an offence known as Khilwa under Shariah law), after reportedly meeting with a
male companion in 2006. The man, whose name is not known, was convicted on the
same charge. They have both been sentenced by a court in al-Qatif city to 90
lashes.
According to reports, shortly after the woman met the male companion, the two
were kidnapped at knifepoint by a gang of seven men. The companion was attacked
by the gang, but was then released. The woman was allegedly then raped by the
gang.
The seven gang members faced trial in the same case as the woman and her
companion. At the conclusion of the trial in November 2006, four members of the
gang were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to five years, in addition
to sentences of flogging ranging from 80 to 1,000 lashes. The legal status of
the remaining three defendants is unclear as they had reportedly surrendered to
the police only shortly before the conclusion of the trial in November 2006.
The sentencing of the woman following her rape ordeal generated shock and anger
among human rights activists as well as members of the public in Saudi Arabia.
It also generated a rare debate in the country on the inconsistencies of the
judicial system and its failure to reflect the gravity of the crimes committed
against the woman. Amnesty International has previously highlighted such
failures, including the interrogation and trial of women on sensitive and
private matters by all-male panels of interrogators and judges. The
organization believes that the criminalisation of ‘Khilwa’ is inconsistent with
international human rights standards, in particular, an individual’s right to
privacy and the case against them should therefore be declared null and void.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Flogging is mandatory in Saudi Arabia for a number of offences, including
sexual offences, and can also be used at the discretion of judges as an
alternative or addition to other punishments. Sentences can range from dozens
to thousands of lashes.
In 1997, the United Nations commission on human rights stated that ''corporal
punishment [such as flogging] can amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading
punishment, or even to torture". As a state party to the Convention Against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT),
Saudi Arabia is in violation of this international standard by carrying out the
punishment of flogging.
| AI Index: MDE 23/013/2007 | | 16 March 2007 |
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