Pardoned

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(Which, of course, still reinforces the idea that being a rape victim is a crime which requires a pardon. All of these men--the so-called royal family and the stoneage Wahhabists, are nothing more than Islamic beasts. But what more should be expected from the religion of peace?)

Saudi king pardons rape victim: report

By Andrew Hammond 2 hours, 53 minutes ago

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has pardoned the victim of a gang-rape whose sentencing to 200 lashes caused an international outcry, a Saudi newspaper said on Monday.

The daily al-Jazirah cited Justice Minister Abdullah bin Mohammad al-Sheikh as saying the king alone had the right to issue pardons if it was in the public interest.

The minister did not confirm if the pardon, reported from unnamed sources, had been issued but the newspaper is close to the religious establishment that controls the Justice Ministry.

The Saudi monarch usually issues pardons to mark the Muslim Eid al-Adha festival which begins on Wednesday, but such announcements are published on the official Saudi Press Agency.

The 19-year-old Shi'ite woman was abducted and raped along with a male companion by seven men last year in a case that has drawn criticism from around the world.

Ruling according to Saudi Arabia's strict reading of Islamic law, a court sentenced the woman to 90 lashes for being alone with an unrelated man and the rapists to prison terms of up to five years.

The Supreme Judicial Council last month increased the sentence to 200 lashes and six months in prison and ordered the rapists to serve between two years and nine years in prison.

"The minister affirmed the integrity, justice and transparency of the legal system in the kingdom ... and that there is no cause to cast doubts about it," the paper said.

If confirmed, the pardon would represent a rare occasion where Saudi rulers have publicly challenged Saudi Arabia's hardline clerics, who have wide powers in society according to a traditional pact with the Saudi royal family.

Clerics of Wahhabi Islam dominate the justice system which King Abdullah said in October he wanted to reform.

The rape case has become a national embarrassment to Saudi Arabia, provoking soul-searching among columnists in the press about the country's international image.

President George W. Bush said earlier this month that King Abdullah "knows our position loud and clear" on the case, and Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said last month he hoped the ruling would be changed.

Fawziya al-Oyouni, a women's rights activist, welcomed the report but said it was not enough. She said the family of the victim had not been informed officially of any pardon.

"We don't want to rely simply on pardons. We need harsher sentences for the guilty parties and we want to feel safe," she said, citing another rape case in the Eastern Province this month.

(Writing by Andrew Hammond; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071217/wl_nm/..._rape_pardon_dc