Saudi King Pardons Rape Victim, How Big of Him

This story falls into the category of "things that make me crazy." A young woman is gang-raped ... and then treated as a criminal by the Saudi government. Finally, someone there has come to their senses. I have a feeling, however, that it has little to do with morality or justice, and more to do with maintaining a friendship with the US money changer.

The Washington Post reports:

A woman sentenced to prison and a public lashing after being gang-raped has been pardoned by the Saudi monarch in a case that sparked an international outcry, including rare criticism from the United States, the kingdom's top ally.

The woman, known only as "the Girl of Qatif," was convicted of violating Saudi Arabia's strict Islamic laws against mixing of the sexes because she was in a car with a man she was not related to when the seven men attacked and raped them both in 2006.

The sentence shocked many in the West. In unusually strong criticism of a close ally, President Bush said that if the same thing happened to one of his daughters, he would be "angry at those who committed the crime. And I'd be angry at a state that didn't support the victim."

In past weeks, Saudi officials have bristled at the criticism of what they consider an internal affair -- but also appeared wary of hurting their nation's image in the United States.

It will take more than Bush acting like a father should act to get me to come around and support him. And it also seems clear that King Abdullah made his decision in response to Bush's comments, and not because it was the right thing to do.

With the pardon, Abdullah appeared to be aiming to relieve the pressure from the United States without being seen to criticize Saudi Arabia's conservative Islamic legal system, a stronghold of powerful clerics of the strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam.

The announcement of Abdullah's pardon was published Monday on the front pages of Al-Jazirah newspaper, which is deemed close to the royal family. But it did not appear in any other local media or the state-run news agency -- in an apparent attempt to play down the case at home.

Justice Minister Abdullah bin Mohammed al-Sheik defended the courts, saying the pardon does not mean the king doubted the country's judges, but that he was acting in the "interests of the people."

"The king always looks into alleviating the suffering of the citizens when he becomes sure that these verdicts will leave psychological effects on the convicted people, though he is convinced and sure that the verdicts were fair," al-Sheik said, according to by Al-Jazirah.

Public criticism of the Islamic judiciary is rare in Saudi Arabia, where commitment to implementing the Wahhabi version of Islamic Sharia law is one of the foundations of the ruling family's legitimacy. Still, the case triggered a small but unusual debate in the country about its courts, in which judges have wide discretion in punishing a criminal, rules of evidence are shaky and sometimes no defense lawyers are present.