Saudi King Commutes Sentence of Gang Rape Victim

On December 17, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia commuted the sentence of 200 lashes and a six-month prison term for a woman who had been gang-raped. The woman had been charged with "illegal mingling" with an unrelated man at the time of the sexual assault. In November, the General Court of Qatif had increased her sentence from its earlier verdict of 90 lashes, because she and her lawyer spoke out publicly about the case. Human Rights Watch issued a series of press releases denouncing the increased sentence imposed on the woman and calling on the Ministry of Justice to immediately stop publishing statements aimed at damaging her reputation. We also condemned the Ministry's harassment of the woman's lawyer, who was arbitrarily banned from the courtroom and from any future representations of her. Human Rights Watch's advocacy contributed to the international outcry over this case, creating pressure on the Saudi authorities to commute her sentence. The Ministry of Justice also promised to cancel her lawyer's disciplinary hearing where he was to face possible disbarment.