Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Saudi national airlines steward molested passenger, 2000 lashes, 10 years prison

Jeddah - A Saudi Airlines steward convicted of attempting to rape a female passenger in the plane's toilet has received a prison sentence of 10 years. Additionally he was sentenced to the punishment of 2000 lashes.

Sex crimes often go unpunished or the guilty receive lenient sentences. Not so in Saudi Arabia where on September 27, a court at Burayadah convicted an air steward and sentenced him to 10 years in prison and 2000 lashes. The unnamed man was found guilty of attempting to rape a woman in mid-air during a domestic Saudi Airlines flight in the Kingdom.

Emirates 247 first reported the case in June, when an unnamed Australian woman of Lebanese origin who was traveling with her husband, made a complaint. As an investigation was launched, Saudi Airlines

“considered the complaint as strange because it came a long time after the flight…officials wondered why the woman did not complain to the cabin crew or the pilot at the time of the incident.”

At the time the steward faced losing his job if the charge of molestation was founded. The man was then arrested and the company stated it was trying to contact some of the passengers seated near to the toilet so they could testify in the case.

The latest report from Emirates 247 says the woman testified

“the steward pressed his hand on her mouth to prevent her from screaming and tried to rape her.”

The court has said the steward may appeal the verdict.

Whilst a prison sentence may be warranted, the additional punishment of 2000 lashes is extremely harsh. It is a penalty that is applied under Saudi’s sharia law for sexual deviants. The punishment would be fatal if meted out at one time, but the Saudi system allows for the flogging to be carried out in installments.
According to Corporal Com

“Saudi floggings are intended primarily as symbolic humiliation rather than intensely painful retribution, and is in line with a rule in the Koran that the operator is required to keep a copy of the holy book under his arm, so that he will not swing the whip from the shoulder but only from the elbow.”

However, video evidence shows that floggings routinely take place without the impediment of a book to limit the swing of the whip.

The 2000 lashes could be inflicted by a long cane, a whip or a leather strap. If the punishment is applied in installments the steward will be able to recuperate in his cell between floggings.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/312065

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