More Gang Rape Fallout In The Medieval Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Saudi lawyer Abdul-Rahman al-Lahem, now faces suspension of his license to practice law for his efforts to defend the Saudi gang rape victim now sentenced to a judicial flogging of 200 lashes and 6 months imprisonment. You can read her story here.

Saudi Arabia’s official legal code is Sharia law based on the extremist Wahhabi interpretation of the Koran. Most laws followed by the court are unwritten and invoke extreme punishments for an incredible range of offenses, from possible execution for witchcraft and sorcery to judicial flogging for any female caught outside of her home in the company of a man who is not a close relative. That was the original basis for ordering 60 lashes of the victim of the gang rape. And the Saudi judicial system has numerous other nuances of note, such as the fact that courts only credit the testimony of women as half that of a man. (That certainly solves the problem of determining veracity in “he said – she said” scenarios.)

Al-Lahem is apparently a brave lawyer who has defended numerous cases challenging the medieval orthodoxy of Saudi Arabia and its legal system. He has challenged this orthodoxy, representing, among others, “a school administrator suspended for criticizing the religious establishment, a man convicted of promoting homosexuality for saying it was genetic, three political reformists seeking a constitutional monarchy, and the first Saudis suing the country's powerful religious police."

But by pointing the international spotlight on the outrageous conduct of the Saudi judiciary that originally gave light sentences to men who committed the brutal gang rape while sentencing the 19 year old victim to 60 lashes, both al Lahem and his client have incurred the judiciary's heavy handed wrath. The Washington Post tells us today:

Saudi officials have revoked the license of human rights lawyer Abdul-Rahman al-Lahem, who has handled the country's most controversial cases and defended a gang-rape victim sentenced to jail time and lashes.

Lahem, 36, faces a disciplinary hearing Dec. 5 to determine the length of his suspension

Lahem is accused by the prosecutor general of "belligerent behavior, talking to the media for the purpose of perturbing the judiciary, and hurting the country's image," according to an official letter he received Monday.

. . . Lahem said he was banned from the courtroom for his refusal in September to allow his client to attend a hearing in which she would have come face to face with her rapists. "She tried to take her life several times after the rape, and I did not want her traumatized all over again," he said. The woman's name has not been published.

The Justice Ministry on Tuesday stood by its decision, saying Lahem was banned from the court for insulting the judiciary, opposing instructions and violating provisions of the law. It did not give details.

. . . The order revoking Lahem's license also criticized his statements to reporters during one of his cases, in which the court forced a couple to divorce after the wife's half brothers complained that the husband was of a lower social status.

. . . After Lahem appealed, seeking harsher sentences for the rapists and calling the ruling against his client unjust, a superior court increased the sentences of both victims to six months and 200 lashes. The rapists' sentences were nearly doubled.

According to the English-language daily Arab News, the court told the woman her punishment was increased because of "her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media."

Though he was disappointed with the verdict, Lahem said, he realized as he was driving from Qatif back to Riyadh, where he is based, that its excess was actually a sign of hope.

"That verdict signals the death throes of the judiciary's old guard. They can see the end is near," he said. "As black as it looked for me . . . I saw that the overkill in that verdict was a sign of desperation." . . .

Read the story here. I hope that he is correct in his assessment, for his client's sake if none other. If you would like to let the Saudi Arabian embassy know what you think of this, you can e-mail them at info@saudiembassy.net. And while you're at it, why don't you also send an e-mail to CAIR asking them their position on this given that they claim to be the primary Islamic human rights organization in America. They can be reached by contact form here.