Muttawa Cleared of Murder

In a post on the "Qatif Girl" case I mentioned the case of two members of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (i.e. the Muttawa) who were accused of causing the death of a man who died in their custody.

(I have written a post dedicated to the Muttawa here. They are particularly infamous for causing the deaths of fifteen schoolgirls during a fire at their school. The Muttawa stopped the girls from getting out because their hair wasn't properly covered.)

Returning to the case of the two Muttawa, who allegedly killed a Saudi man by beating him to a pulp: according to this article, the case against them has been dropped:-

The judges in the case of two members of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice who were accused of causing the death of Salman Al-Huraisi following a raid of his house in May dismissed the charges yesterday in the Riyadh High Court.

The court in Riyadh “acquitted the two members of the Commission of the charge of being directly responsible for the death of Al-Huraisi, for lack of sufficient evidence,” the commission’s lawyer Yussef Al-Nuqaidan said.

. . .

A copy of the ruling, which was sent to Arab News, mentioned five reasons in which the three judges have stated to dismiss the case:

• That the testimonies of the eyewitnesses cannot be accepted because they said Commission members cannot testify against their colleagues;

• That the two defendants later retracted their confessions;

• That the testimonies of other Commission members in the case cannot be presented as evidence by the attorney representing the family;

• That family members have testified that the two defendants had beaten the deceased; and

• That the testimonies from the two defendants in their earlier confession did not mention that they had beaten the deceased in his head, which is considered the fatal blow which caused the death.

Compare the judge's eagerness to acquit in this case with the judge's attitude in the "Qatif Girl" case. It seems to be one law for the Muttawa and another for a female member of a religious minority!

Qatif Girl Interview

The online version of the Daily Telegraph has an interview with the Qatif Girl. Apparently, whe was attacked by her brother:-

A Saudi woman sentenced to 200 lashes after she was gang-raped claims her brother tried to kill her when he learned of the attack.

The woman, known only as Qatif Girl after the area where the crime occurred, also described how she tried to commit suicide after the assault. The interview was recorded by Human Rights Watch in December 2006 and released recently.

"Everyone looks at me as if I'm wrong. I couldn't even continue my studies. I wanted to die. I tried to commit suicide twice," the woman said of the aftermath of the attack in which she was raped at knifepoint by seven men as a former boyfriend was driving her home.

Unlike other Arab countries, we hear little about honour killings in Saudi Arabia. This is probably because of police complicity in hushing them up. In today's Arab News there is an article about violence against women which discusses local reaction to this case:-

We note a shift in public discourse concerning this case; it has effectively turned from a gang rape — in which the rapists were the perpetrators — to a case of seduction in which the girl is the seducer and guilty party. Some scholars have expressed their belief that the girl and her “partners” deserve the death penalty. Notice please the use of the word “partners.” The word “partner” usually suggests a voluntary link or association.
. . .
It has been interesting to follow the online comments from readers and members of the public about the case. A shift in perspective has become very clear; now there are voices asking for stoning and some are asking for death — for the girl of course.

Why am I not surprised?

Over 1,500 Extremists Freed After Repenting

According to an article in today'a Arab News:-

Saudi authorities have released more than 1,500 reformed extremists, who were detained on charges of embracing and spreading takfeer (the ideology that brands other Muslims who disagree with them as infidels).

The extremists, under the guidance of the Ministry of Interior, had undergone lengthy counseling, according to Muhammad Al-Nujaimi, a member of the Counseling Committee and professor of comparative jurisprudence at the King Fahd Security College.

I am sceptical about the efficacy of these counselling programs that are supposed to convince jihadis that violence and terrorism are inconsistent with Islam.

Many suspected Saudi terrorists were rounded up in recent in response to the campaign of terrorism waged in Saudi Arabia between 2001 and 2005. This, eventually, resulted in the attacks diminishing in frequency and then stopping altogether.

What I suspect happened was that many of those rounded up along with the were either completely uninvolved or not strongly motivated jihadis. These people probably constitute most of those who have forsworn the use of violence.

I'm pretty sure that the hard-core of jihadis can not be persuaded that violence is wrong. I only hope that none of them have been able to fool the committee with a pretence of repentance.

Note: there is no mention of violence or terrorism in the article; most of it talks about takfeer (or takfir), however, the following paragraph is revealing:-

The suspects were largely confused about the meaning of jihad, which led to their believing in committing blind violence. They also viewed that the present Muslim rulers, scholars and public were infidels, and therefore demanded the establishment of a single Islamic state, said Al-Nujaimi.

This almost needs line-by-line analysis. Firstly, while many modern Muslims say that the primary "meaning of jihad" is an inner spiritual struggle, Islamic scholars over the centuries have held that it is warfare against the unbelievers.

The remainder of the paragraph is pure Al Qa'ida. Osama bin Laden calls the rulers of Saudi Arabia infidels because they don't properly enforce Shari'a (which seems very strange to those of us living here). This is the give-away: although it's not stated, these people are, or are suspected of being, members of Al Qa'ida.

Ministry of Justice Smears "Qatif Girl"

According to an Arab News report, the Saudi Ministry of Justice has issued a new statement on the "Qatif Girl" case:-

The statement, which the ministry says is a response to media scrutiny of the ruling, said that the rape victim confessed to having an illegal affair with the man who was caught with her.

“She went out with him without a mahram, a legal guardian, and exchanged forbidden affairs through the illegal khalwa,” the statement said. “They both confessed to doing what God forbids.”

This case has caused as much outrage inside Saudi as it has outside. This is an attempt to address local criticisms of the case. The statement continues:-

"They are the main cause of what happened, the woman and her companion, as they exposed themselves to this horrible crime and violated the rule of Shariah,” the statement said. “That’s why the sentences were increased for everyone due to the dangerous nature of the crime.”

By "crime" they seem to be referring to the crime of the girl and her male companion being alone together. Let me put the ministry's point of view in another way: "she asked for it".

Whether this statement will affect Saudi public opinion, I don't know, but it sure won't cut any ice with Western critics of Saudi justice.

The following are the key issues that I think the Ministry should understand:-

1. An unrelated man and woman being alone together is not a crime, regardless of whether intercourse takes place.
2. In any civilized court, the woman's ordeal would be regarded as sufficient punishment for any crime she had committed (but see 1. above).
   
3. The victim(s), especially of rape, should not be held responsible for causing the crime.
   

I know that I am, in some ways, a guest here and should respect their culture, but this isn't an issue of manners. It's not like refraining from eating or drinking in front of people who are fasting during Ramadan. It's a basic question of what constitutes a crime and what does not.

This could, in fact, be regarded as an example of the "Clash of Civilizations" as proposed by Samuel P. Huntington.

BBC World: Jihad and the Saudi Petrodollar

I have just finished listening to the second part of the BBC World documentary "Jihad and the Saudi Petrodollar". Programme one, "Wahhabism" can be listened to or downloaded from here; programme two "The Money Trail" can be found here.

It comes as no surprise to a Westerner living in Saudi that money from Saudi is funding Jihad around the world. Much of what goes on occurs in Arabic but once in a while you hear something in English.

For example, my suspicions were aroused a year or two ago by an appeal for money for "Palestinian Children's Hospitals". Given that the UK has, to my knowledge, only one dedicated paediatric hospital (Guy's Hospital, London) I find it remarkable that the Palestinian territories have a multitude of them. But, perhaps I am wrong.

That wealthy Saudi individuals and Saudi charities contribute to what we would call "terrorism" is undeniable (except they do deny it). What is not clear is the extent of Saudi government involvement.

Saudi Media Prepares for Anapolis Peace Conference

The above cartoon was published in Arab News two or three days ago. This is not a good indicator for the success of the forthcoming Israel-Palestinian Peace Conference at Anapolis.

The common belief amongst ex-pats is that the Arab News journalists or editors know what they are doing and understand how Western readers of their paper will react to items such as this. The cartoon was, I believe, first published in an Arabic language newspaper.

Anyone publishing something like this in the Western world would find themselves in court quicker than you can say "holcaust denial". However, this sort of thing is, I understand, common in the Arab world. For examples of more dreadful anti-semitic cartoons see here.

In the same vein, Mein Kampf and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion are, I understand, extremely popular in Middle Eastern countries.

The Saudi Legal System

Reading a post about the "Qatif Girl" at Saudi Jeans, I came across a reference to the Royal decree which has ordered an overhaul of the Saudi legal system.

Until now, Saudi judges have had wide discretion to issue rulings according to their own interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.

Codification of the law and a reduction of the Saudi judges discretion would, one would expect, remove injustices such as the increase in the Qatif girl's sentence for publicising the injustice of the case.

What it would not do is remove the basic assumption that a man and a woman who are not related and are not married commit a crime by being alone together. Improvements can be made in the administration of justice in Saudi, however, Saudi law is based on Shari'a. While that is the case it will continue to regard zina (extramarital sex) and khwala (being alone with a male who is not a close relative) as crimes.

"Qatif Girl" Makes Headlines around the World

There seems to be a wave of worldwide disgust and outrage (and quite rightly so) about the case of the "Qatif Girl". As I commented here, a 19-year old woman was kidnapped and raped 14 times by a gang of seven men.

The men were sentenced to between one and five years imprisonment but the girl and her male companion were also sentenced to 90 lashes. At the appeal hearing the sentences of the rapists were increased to between two and nine year, but the girl and her companion's sentences were also increased to 200 lashes and six months in prison.

According to an Arab News report:-

The Ministry of Justice made its first public statement regarding the second verdict in the so-called “Qatif Girl” rape trial, justifying the decision to punish the victims with lashes and jail time on the basis of “some proved charges.”
. . .
The ministry also said yesterday in its statement that anyone has a right to appeal verdicts, but also warned of “stirring up agitation through the media that may not be objective and cannot grant anyone any right as much as it can negatively affect the other parties involved in the case.”

In other words they fully support the judge's decision to increase the sentences of the girl and her male companion!

They may be able to tell the Saudi public that "we're right and you're wrong" but the rest of the world may not be impressed. I've found this story at the BBC, CNN, the New York Times, Sky News, The Telegraph, here, here, and here and here and here.

I think I've made my point: the entire Western world is pretty disgusted at this case. The King would be well advised to intervene in this case and issue a pardon for this girl. That would at least take the heat out of this issue, even if it would do nothing about the underlying problem with the Saudi justice system.

(Update: In neither of the two blog entries I've made on this case, have I mentioned one crucial fact: this girl is a Shi'a. The judge is almost certainly a Sunni religious scholar and so was almost certainly biased against her from the start.)

This is not the only controversial case that's caused criticism of the Saudi legal system. I have already commented on the case of Fatima and Mansour.

These cases are not isolated incidences; reading today's onlive version of Arab News, I came accross this report. It deals with the case of two members of the Muttawa (the religious police) who (gasp!) are actually being tried for murder after a man died in their custody. According to this report:-

Al-Huraisi said: “Everyone in the house, including my elderly father, was arrested and taken to the Oraija commission center,” he said.

The father of the deceased said that commission members continued to beat his handcuffed son, even though he was already covered in blood, until he died at the center.

However, according to today's report, the Saudi Judiciary are keeping to their policy of punishing both the criminal and the victim:-

Meanwhile, a lower court in Riyadh handed sentences to five members of Al-Huraisi’s family for resisting arrest by commission members. Al-Huraisi’s father, Muhammad, 73, was sentenced to two years in jail and 50 lashes; Faisal, a brother of the deceased, who is also blind, was handed a three-month jail sentence; Ismail, another brother, was handed a two-year and eight-month sentence for resisting arrest and possessing alcohol and narcotics; and Ahmed, a nephew of the deceased, was handed a one-year jail sentence.

So a 73 year-old man, who's son was beaten to death in front of his eyes is sentenced to two years in prison and 50 lashes, while a blind brother of the murdered man gets three months in prison!

Motorist Caught for DWW

The good old Arab News has something worth a chuckle or a sigh most days. Today it's a report about a motorist who was caught for DWW: Driving While Woman:-

According to yesterday’s Al-Madinah daily, Saudi Highway Patrol officers pulled over a car on the Madinah-Jeddah highway because they noticed a woman driving.

When the officers approached the car, both the woman and the man seated next to her rolled down the windows and asked if there was a problem. When questioned, the two explained that they were brother and sister and were driving from Kuwait to Jeddah. The brother, who got tired of driving, gave his sister the wheel so he could take a nap.

After officers pointed out that women were not allowed to drive in the Kingdom, the brother and sister pleaded ignorance.

The officers issued a warning to the siblings and let them go about their journey on the condition that the brother drives the rest of the way. (Because, after all, it’s much better for a tired, travel-weary man to drive a car than any woman!)

Reading the last paragraph you can tell that the writer does not approve of the current law regarding women drivers in Saudi. Although the media in Saudi Arabia is heavily censored, the English language newspapers are sometimes able to get away with indirect criticisms of the government because they are mainly read only by the ex-pat community.

The article continues:-

The Saudi press consistently reports instances of women getting caught behind the wheel. Usually these “offenders” sneak the family car out of the house — without the knowledge of their male guardians — for a joy ride but what made this situation unique was the fact that the woman was accompanied by a man.

In 2006 women were even forbidden from driving golf carts at a cultural festival. Apparently, there is a "League of Demanders of Women's Right to Drive Cars in Saudi Arabia" and on the Saudi National day (23 September) this year, they submitted a petition to King Abdullah requesting that women be allowed to drive.

Best of luck to them; they can't be any more dangerous than their male compatriots!

Final Death Toll in Pipeline Explosion

According to a report in today's Arab News, the final death toll in Sunday's gas pipline explosion is 40 dead. Strangely enough, the number of injured has fallen from "at least 60" yesterday to nine of which six have already been discharged from hospital. The larger total seems more likely to me; today's figures may only refer to Aramco employees.

The nationalities of the dead are reported as follows:-

Among the 40 workers who lost their lives were 18 Pakistanis, seven Indians, seven Bangladeshis, six Saudis, one South African and one Nepalese, it said.

Only one Westerner (the South African) amongst the dead and only five Saudi Aramco employees; all the others worked for a contractor company. The lack of Western engineers involved confirms my suspicion that human error was the cause of the accident.

This is not to denigrate the abilities of Asian workers and technicians; many work long hours in dreadful conditions for little pay. They have, however, a different outlook on safety and the value of human life.

A friend of mine told me the following story (forgive me if I've told it before): he came into his office one morning and found an Indian electrician, precariously balanced on a chair, trying to repair a light fitting. My friend told the electrician to be careful. "Don't worry, sir", replied the electrician, "I have a brother"!

Death Toll from Gas Explosion Increased to 38

According to a report in today's Arab News the death toll from yesterday's gas explosion has increased to 38. This is not surprising, on consideration, as yesterday's report mentioned that twelve workers were missing.

Nevertheless, this must have been a huge explosion to have killed so many. The report also states that at least 60 people were injured.

The explosion occurred on the Haradh-Othmaniya gas pipeline which is in the region of the huge Al-Ghawar (map, also see above) oil field - the largest oil field in the world.

As a subscriber to the Jim Hacker school of political cynicism, the official denial of any terrorist involvement means that I have to consider it a possibility. The coincidence of the OPEC conference in Riyadh also makes me think that a terrorist link should be looked at.


However, there are many oil and gas pipelines running across the Saudi desert. It would be much easier for Iranian agents or Al Qaeda supporters to sabotage a pipeline out in the desert away from prying eyes. The fact that so many workers were caught up in the blast indicates to me that this explosion can be easily explained as a case of human error.

Massive Gas Explosion

In recent years the Saudi government has ordered a massive "dash for gas" by the government owned oil company Aramco. The amount of oil that Saudi Arabia can extract is governed by OPEC agreements.

The Saudi government has decided to expolt its massive gas reserves for internal use (e.g. electricity generation) so that it can export more of the oil it produces.

Earlier today a massive explosion occurred, apparently, while engineers were connecting a new pipe to the main pipeline. Reports here and here.

Twenty eight people are reported killed and twelve people are still missing; there is no estimate given of the number injured. There is no indication that this is terrorist related, however there is no indication given of the cause of the blast. Five of the dead are Saudi Aramco employees, the rest were contractors.

The fire occurred about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Aramco's Hawiyah gas plant.

In recent years, western managers have been replaced by Saudi and Arabic managers. These people are far from being incompetent and Aramco has a extremely safety-concious ethic. However, the Arab mindset is not one that will challenge authority or risk one's own career to highlight a safety issue.

An alternative explanation can be found in the fact that only five out of the 28 dead are Saudi Aramco employees. The remainder are Asian workers employed by contractors. Aramco uses it's bargaining power to force contractors to lower their fees to rock bottom levels. The contractors can then only make a profit if they cut corners e.g. on employee wages, training etc.

This is, of course, only my opinion based on a lot of guesswork and taking the news reports on face value.

The Story of Fatmia and Mansour

Having described the dreadful events resulting from the gang-rape of the "Qatif girl" in my last post, I decided that I should also write about the case of "Fatima and Mansour". This case also caused a lot of comment, even outrage, amongst the Saudi public.

To understand this case, you must understand that tribal loyalties and affiliations are still very strong in the modern Saudi Arabia. A Lebanese friend says that Saudis classify themselves as being either "110" or "220". This is a reference to the electricity supply; the ordinary mains is 110 volts, but some buildings are wired with a 220 volt supply.

If a Saudi can trace his lineage back to one of the Bedouin tribes of the desert, then he is said to be tribal and looks down on the ordinary Saudis who are descended from the Arabs of the towns and cities.

There is a third option; everybody looks down on the resident of Jizan (a province in the South West of the country). The dialing cope for Jizan is "07", so if you are a Saudi, you are either 220 (i.e. tribal), 110 (i.e. non-tribal) or 07 (from Jizan).

Leaving that aside, I will return to Fatima and Mansour. They were a happily married couple with a young family. Unfortunately, Fatima's half-brothers didn't like Mansour and accused him of lying about his tribal background. (Even if you are tribal, some tribes have more status than others.)

According to this report from Arab News:-

Mansour has repeatedly denied that he lied about his tribal background. “They (Fatima’s male relatives) asked about me and even came to visit me at my work in Al-Jouf where I lived at the time,” he said in a previous interview with Arab News.

While Fatima's father was still alive her half-brothers could do nothing. Unfortunately, he became terminally ill and gave his sons the power of attorney.

The half-brothers used their new authority to apply to a court to have Fatima and Mansour's wedding annulled. Fatima and Mansour were not informed of the proceedings and the brother's application was granted in their absence!

When the couple learnt about the ruling they initially went on the run. They were eventually captured by the police and imprisoned in Dammam for living together while not married to each other.

Eventually, the authorities decided to release them but Fatima refused to return to her family:-

In an interview with Arab News in November, Fatima said she was remaining in prison by her own choice; she refused to return to the custody of her family. (Women of any age in Saudi Arabia require a legal male guardian, or mahram, who could be either their husbands or other male relatives.) “I’m leaving this place on one condition only: That I go back to my husband,” she told Arab News.

She also said that she feared her brothers would mistreat her children who they regarded as being inferior. As of now, Fatima remains in Dammam prison with her youngest child, while Mansour has custody of their older child. More information on this case can be found here.

It appears that women in Saudi law occupy a place somewhere inbetween children and adults. On the one hand they cannot be responsible for themselves but must be in the care of an adult male relative. On the other hand they are regarded as being responsible for their actions and are punished for them up to and including the death penalty.

Saudi Justice

I haven't blogged here for some time but I have to comment on this dreadful story. I should warn you in advance that you may find some of these events extremely distressing.

It starts back in March of last year, over in the Eastern Province, in or near the town of Qatif.

A 19 year-old woman was kidnapped by a gang of seven men. She was taken to a nearby farm where she was raped a total of 14 times. A man who tried to come to her aid was beaten up and also raped!

According to a report in the Arab News:-

Gang members were reported to have taken pictures of the rapes and contacted both victims telling them that if they did not help them find other young women to rape they would distribute their pictures.

Despite this, the couple reported these crimes to the police and five of the gang were arrested.

A security source from the Eastern Province said that all the four arrested men had confessed to the crime.

In a case such as this, according to Shari'a, you either need four witnesses (!) or a confession. Saudi justice is based on confessions; usually a suspect has something like a baseball bat applied to sensitive parts of his anatomy until he confesses. These four were sentenced:-

Four of the seven men who gang-raped a young woman in March have been sent to jail for periods ranging between one and five years by a court in Qatif and will be given 80 to 1,000 lashes.

According to police sources, only four members of the gang have been sentenced. Another man, who is presently in police custody, is awaiting sentencing while two members of the gang are presently on the run.

Considering that they could have been given the death penalty, this is extremely lenient. However, worse was yet to come for the victims:-

The court also sentenced the woman and the man she was meeting to 90 lashes for having met in private. The security source from the Eastern Province said, “The judge sentenced the girl and the man to 90 lashes because they were alone with the intention of doing something bad. Because of that, they will be punished.” Relatives of the woman said that they would appeal against the 90-lash-sentence.

During the trial, the woman claimed that she did not know the man and that he had come to her rescue after she was kidnapped. The fifth gang member, who is awaiting sentencing, handed himself to police weeks ago. He will be sentenced on a later date.

The appeal finally reached court a few days ago:-

The Appeals Court sentenced the victim to 200 lashes and six months in prison. The seven rapists had their sentences increased to between two and nine years. The verdict came in as a shock to everybody.

You can say that again.

A source at the Qatif General Court said that the judges had informed the rape victim that the reason behind doubling her punishment was “her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media.”

Judge Soliman Al-Muhanna from the Qatif court told the lawyer (Al-Lahem) that the judicial committee had decided to suspend him from the case. They also confiscated his license which is granted to Saudi lawyers by the Ministry of Justice.

So not only do they punish the victim, they also punish her lawyer for pointing out the injustice of the case. I found a more detailed report on the new sentences here. This article has a slightly different version of events:-

The young woman’s offense was in meeting a former boyfriend, whom she had asked to return pictures he had of her because she was about to marry another man. The couple was sitting in a car when a group of seven men kidnapped them and raped them both, lawyers in the case told Arab News, a Saudi newspaper.

The article continues:-

“I don’t agree with this judgment,” Bassem Alim, a lawyer in Jidda, said of the woman’s sentence. “I think it’s overly severe. She should not be punished for going to the media and explaining her case.”

Mr. Alim, a friend of the victim’s lawyer, said the standard punishment for adultery is 60 to 80 lashes, so the sentence was unusually harsh, even for Saudi Arabia.

“I don’t think she was committing adultery in that car,” Mr. Alim added.

It can't be adultery as she wasn't married; had she actually had intercourse in the car, the crime would be called zina which is normally translated into English as fornication.

That someone should be punished on a mere suspicion of having intercourse with a person who is not their spouse is barbaric. That a woman should be punished after suffering such a dreadful ordeal is so inhumane as to beggar belief.