In what is believed to be a historic first, a Saudi court has passed its first caning sentence on a female journalist. Journalist Rosanna Al-Yami has just been sentenced to 60 lashes of the cane and a 2-year travel ban. Her crime? For facilitating the production of a recent TV episode of A Thick Red Line in which a Saudi man, Mazen Abdul Jawad, boasted about his sex life.
Rosanna Al-Yami works as a coordinator for the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC), which airs this popular episode watched by many in Saudi Arabia. Among other things, Rosanna Al-Yami was charged with involvement in preparing the program.
Who is Mazen Abdul Jawad, and what exactly did he say on air that caused Rosanna Al-Yami to be sentenced to 60 lashes of the cane and a travel ban?
Mazen Abdul Jawad is a divorcee with 4 children. The 32-year-old airline employee was very candid during his interview on A Thick Red Line. In it he boasted about his various sexual escapades. He spoke of losing his virginity at the age of 14, and since then, developing a love for sex.
What’s surprising is that Mazen Abdul Jawad did not disguise himself on TV. Most guests appearing on this program usually wear sunglasses, wigs and strange clothing to hide their identities.
In this episode, viewers got to see Mazen Abdul Jawad’s bedroom. He decorated it with stuffed toys – bears and even Mickey Mouse – arranged in sexually suggestive positions. There were sexual aids, and a book in Arabic entitled 101 Questions About Sex.
How did he get girls in conservative Muslim Saudi Arabia? Well he got a bit of help from Bluetooth technology. All he did was to put a picture of his red Mini Cooper car and his cell phone number on his own cell phone, then activate the Bluetooth to allow other Bluetooth devices to locate him. He boasted that women usually called to enquire if the car is for sale.
Did he succeed in getting women for sex this way? Mazen Abdul Jawad said: “Some go out with me that same night.”
This program caused a great uproar in Saudi Arabia. Police spokesman Suleiman Al-Mutawae said that speaking about promiscuous acts “is a violation of the sharia regulations on the one hand and against Saudi customs on the other.” Not surprising therefore, Mazen Abdul Jawad was charged with the crime of publicizing vice.
Another reason for the uproar is that under Sharia law, pre-marital sex is illegal. Moreover, conservative Saudi Arabia practise sex segregation, meaning that unrelated men and women cannot mingle together.
Mazen Abdul Jawad was sentenced to 5 years in prison and 1,000 lashes of the cane. Saudi authorities have also shut down the offices of the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation in the Kingdom. But it’s too late. The show has been posted on YouTube which attracted several thousands hits.
Think about it. What kind of upside down world are we living in? Why would a Muslim owned TV station broadcasting to Muslim countries, including conservative Muslim Saudi Arabia, air a program that is offensive to its viewers? What motivated Mazen Abdul Jawad to tell all? What about the punishment? 1,000 lashes of the cane to Mazen Abdul Jawad and 60 lashes to journalist Rosanna Al-Yami. Looks like lashes galore over a TV sex episode.
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That is unfortunate. Then again, I suspect that the people who live in that country are aware of the law. In time, these things will pass.