So the Saudi King has intervened in the caning sentence passed on female journalist Rosana Al-Yami. Last weekend, a court in Saudi Arabia sentenced her to 60 lashes of the cane and a travel ban. She was charged for her involvement in the airing of an episode of A Thick Red Line in which a Saudi man, Mazen Abdul Jawad, boasted about his sex life. Rosana Al-Yami worked for the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC).
King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud has now pardoned Rosana Al-Yami. Well, perhaps “pardon” is not quite the right word. The more appropriate word to use is “waived”. In effect, the Saudi king waived the caning sentence passed on Rosana Al-Yami. This follows intense media attention, both locally and internationally.
Rosana Al-Yami was charged with facilitating the show that is deemed offensive in Saudi Arabia. But a lawyer said that she was not involved at all in this particular episode. Interestingly, it is now known that the charges against her were actually dropped, but Rosana Al-Yami said that the judge ordered the caning as a “deterent”. Reacting to the King’s action, Rosana Al-Yami said: “The king has vindicated me. I am satisfied with the king’s order and I accept the decisions of the sovereign.”
Why is “pardon” not quite the right word? Well, to pardon is to realease a person from punishment, in effect to let an offense pass without punishment. But in this case, there is still possibility of further disciplinary action. Abdul-Rahman al-Hazzaa, a spokesman for the Information Ministry said: “They will transfer the case to the ministry of information … In this case, the flogging has been dropped.”
The King has also referred another case involving a pregnant female journalist accused of involvement in the same program to a committee in the Information Ministry.
But what about the Saudi man in the middle of this sex episode? Abdul Jawad was sentenced to 5 years in prison and 1,000 lashes of the cane. 3 other men who appeared on the show were also convicted of discussing sex publicly and sentenced to two years imprisonment and 300 lashes each. Well the King did not intervene in these cases.
Should the King intervene? Lawyer Sulaiman al-Jumeii acting for Abdul Jawad thinks so. He said that Abdul Jawad was duped by the TV station, and was not aware that he was being recorded. If so, this may explain why Abdul Jawad did not disguise himself on TV. People who appear on this show usually wear all sorts of disguises to hide their identities.
Calling for equal royal intervention, Lawyer Sulaiman al-Jumeii said: “Justice should not be divided as long as it is one case. They are being tried by a court that is not specialized in this issue and has not even summoned LBC or watched the raw film. ”
Think about it. Why did the judge impose the caning and travel ban on Rosana Al-Yami as a “deterent” when charges against her were dropped? What kind of legal system in the world allows a judge to impose a sentence when there are no charges against an accused? The intervention by the Saudi king appears to solve this legal problem. Could this be the solution also for the case involving Malaysian model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno who is awaiting caning for drinking alcohol? Could the Malaysian king intervene to resolve the case as well?
Earlier posts
Saudi Caning – Lashes Galore Over sex Episode
Saudi Arabia – Man Caned For Sending Love Messages Via SMS
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