Saudi teenager gets 90 lashes, 2 months in prison for assaulting teacher
Assault happened after girl was caught with camera phone; Amnesty International urges King Abdullah to rescind sentence.
By The Associated Press Tags: Saudi ArabiaA teenage girl has been sentenced to a 90-lash flogging and two months in prison as punishment for assaulting a teacher, a Saudi judge said in an interview published Sunday.
Human rights group Amnesty International said the assault happened after the girl was caught with a camera phone at school.
The teenager's name was not immediately available. She could be spared with a pardon from King Abdullah, said Judge Riyadh al-Meihdib.
The verdict was read out to her at the court and she did not object, al-Meihdib told Al-Watan, a national Saudi daily newspaper.
He said the teacher refused to forgive the girl, who will not appeal the case. The teacher's condition was unknown, and the newspaper had no details about the dispute.
Camera phones are banned at the school.
Al-Watan quoted the school headmaster describing the girl as about twenty years old. However, Amnesty said the girl is 13.
In a statement Friday, the London-based rights watchdog urged Abdullah to intervene immediately to ensure that the flogging sentence is rescinded.
He must also take steps to reform Saudi Arabian law and criminal procedure to ban the use of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, in particular floggings of children, Amnesty interim Secretary General Claudio Cordone said.
Judge al-Meihdib said his court will issue instructions to local authorities in Jubail to carry out the sentence within two days.
Jubail is located on the Red Sea. Its court sentenced the teenager with the harsh punishment Tuesday.
Why Facebook Connect?
Comment on Haaretz.com articles with your Facebook login, and share your thoughts on your own wall.
- Latest
- Most Viewed
- Most Rated
- Open all
90 lashes for a transgression one "has" committed, or indefinite Administrative Detention for the undefined transgression of being who you are?
90 lashes for a transgression one "has" committed, or indefinite Administrative Detention for the undefined transgression of being who you are?
Every teacher and every parent at the school should be forced to watch, just like British sailors had to muster to witness punishment before the grand mutiny. And the judge's children should be forced to watch, too. Just so they can see how nice Daddy is.
Yeah, but on the other hand, there are two considerations. Many of our schools are totally dysfunctional. It follows that we have no idea of what actually might be necessary and so are in no position to announce what the Saudis should or shouldn't do. Then secondly, it probably WON'T kill her. And furthermore, it is at least a punishment for what was apparently an actual crime. Given the fairly long list of countries that like as not DID kill someone today -- and someone who like as not wasn't guilty of anything at all -- I'm not terribly interested in lecturing the Saudis on a topic where we evidently have no idea what the answer is ourselves.
helpless lets get rid of the extremist, the wahabbis, the twelvers, the bloated Islamic dictatorships and Iranian mullahs. I think the whole world should tell the fat saud government, the Iranian mullahs and all the terrorists groups to leave the children and the planet alone. I hope one day to see the people of arabia and the people of Iran and all the peoples of the world free of this garbage!!!!
We call them barbarians, etc, etc. I assure you crime in that cesspool you call home in NY hasn't a leg to stand on. Crime in the states occur over cans of soda pop, where a cashier would get shot senselessly. Crime in the Arab world is low to non-existent because of these types of punishments. How many of our stellar children can hold a candle to kids from Arab countries who are far beyond more educated and respectful than any of our kids will ever be. Our country has gone so 'politically correct' that raising our children has become absurd. You fart in your kids direction and it can be construed as physical abuse. I see the kids here in GRADE school with their cell phones and how they act around adults. It's about time they are disciplined accordingly. I praise the Arab countries for this type of mentality. We in the states still have issues with capital punishment...screw them, they killed someone in cold blood, they die now. PERIOD!!!
Stricly administered by a zealous enforcer, could be fatal.
Ahhhhh!!! Right!! Thanks for the clearing it up for everyone. Phew - For a moment there, we all though that they were going to lash a 13 year old female. Thanks goodness she's 20. That makes it all so much clearer. You are an idiot.
To Cool B: you have just posted that Hitler, Mussolini, Atilla the Hun etal have to be obeyed. Would you care to modify your statement?
For having a cell camera phone ! My God....have MERCY....MERCY.... 90 lashes !!!! 2 months in prison !!!! As if the ones judging her ...have never made a mistake....done anything wrong... Shows just how EVIL they really are !
We will understand how you are worried about human rights next time you post.
How about public beheadings in chop chop square or amputations or gender apartheid or supression of other religions?
Yes, Saudi kids turn out so much better than ours... some of them even learn to fly planes (although not land them).
Europe of 12th century, that is.
She would have talked or texted while driving, punishment would have been final and fatal
if we did the same over here, we wouldn't have the high percentage of dropouts and underachievers every year
There has been in recent years a dispute between the 'liberals' and the "religious right" over punishing errant students. The religious right insisting upon corporal punishment and the liberals wanting the kids arrested and tried. The Saudis do both. But then in Saudi the religious right IS the government.
As harsh as this may be, disrespect for authority cannot be condoned.
Where do they get the number 90 from? Is this the law of the country, or from the Koran? Unbelievable cruelty. I hope the King steps in and cancels this insanity. And, what do they mean by "attacked" the teacher? Maybe the girl just got emotional and asked for the camera back, or maybe the girl just cried. This needs to be investigated further, if the country will allow it.
...no seriously..it would get the kids to learn instead of misbehaving if they knew that there were harsh sanctions available. Their ability to learn and focus would improve immensely, and the instances of juvinile delinquincy would decline.
Its interesting how Amnesty has records of all Saudi pupils details including age. Amnesty's claim that she's 13 years old severly damages their credibilty. The school the girl was attending was a illiteracy eradication school for adults. So the girl couldn't be 13 years old.