King Abdullah has issued a royal decree pardoning the Qatif Girl, Al Jazirah daily reported today. It is interesting that the king interfered to pardon the girl in this case even before all appeals have been exhausted, but this doesn’t matter because what’s important is that justice and common sense have prevailed in the end.
26 thoughts on “Qatif Girl Pardoned”
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Is this because they just wanted it to end quickly to get out of the spotlight or were they trying to avoid a conflict with the judiciary?
Either way, I am so happy for the Qatif Girl and her husband. And of course Al Lahem. The Qatif Girl’s courage in standing up and calling out the BS is a role model to all.
You go girl! (If I may say so:))
Right On.
Whatever the reasons for the pardon, thank god comon sense finally prevailed. Maybe the king can turn some of his attention to further reforms of the justice system.
thanks for blogging this.
yaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!! Allahu Akbar walhamdulillah :) imagine the look on those people faces (the ones who wanted the woman stoned to death) LOL
*people’s
I don’t see as a very positive thing.
The reason?, just because there are many other injustice that takes place in our courts and the main reason, I believe, for the royal pardon in this case is the huge publicity it got. What about others who do not get the ability to make a public case of their problems in the court rooms, do not they deserve a look that create a better process for everyone in the country to get their rights!.
This is the most stupid judiciary system I’ve heard about !!
who is the victim here ? thank you my king for pardoning the victim ??!!!!
I was very happy for ”the girl” and her husband.
I hope it also means that Abdul Rahman al-Lahem will regain his licence.
I hope and believe that this will be a step forward, and give many others courage to stand up and demand, and get, true justice.
Would the fact that it is Hajj have anything to do with this?
@ youngMuslimah: I am imagining :)
I agree w/ abujoori. Maybe it’s hajj time and people felt a little *generous* towards the *victim*. either ways, its still good news. just the word *pardoned* makes me mad.
I disagree that common sense has prevailed. Common sense would be to say that she broke no law and is not guilty. Rather the King of KSA has said, she is indeed guilty, but I will her spare her the punishment she deserves.
This is no justice at all, nor is it common sense. Is Allah al 3aadil pleased with this? As surely as the sun will rise tomorrow he is not.
Does this royal action mean that the King is above the Islamic justice? Interesting….
Whether the King said she is “guilty” (his words, not mine…and Allah knows better), he pardoned her, so may she and her dear husband be happy together and out of the lime light. She is a true heroe for speaking up…I admrie her for that, and now more than ever I will pray for her to have strenght for those who will take it on themselves to continue “being her judge”.
And abujoori, this is just a baby step in the right direction of true justice…which only a God fearing man would understand and not take lightly. Before you know it, you will see women driving their children to the hospital in emergencies and to the market buying groceries so the husband can rest after working all day and not having to be the wife’s driver. Alhumdillah!
Crispal: No, nearly all heads of government hold the power to pardon. That doesn’t put them above the law because their power is part of the law.
The facts remain that, under current Saudi law, the girl committed the crime of khulwa, for which she was sentenced. She appealed and her sentence was more than doubled. That’s what really set people off.
The pardon does not say that she was not guilty, only that the King believed it was better that the sentence not be imposed.
I’ve read a bunch of different versions of the story on many newspapers on the web and quite a number of them say that she was meeting a former boyfriend who was also raped. Then he disappears from the news, as if his being raped didn’t have any importance. Why is that? Is there no concern for the ‘Qatif boy’? What’s happened to him? Is the femminist viewpont all that matters here? or maybe he was not raped after all…? Didn’t anybody ask those questions? I find this very weird.
Gui Quandt:
It is not the feminist viewpoint that caused Qatif Girl to become a cause celebre. If her boyfriend had spoken up, I for one would have been equally vocal about it. The reason the Qatif Girl achieved prominence is because a)she had the guts to protest the original sentence, and b)her sentence was increased drastically compared with the man BECAUSE she protested.
Of course we asked questions about the man who was raped. He didn’t answer so we don’t know his response. Frankly, I would love to see him get justice too.
The man should receive a pardon as well to make the treatment equitable. It is not clear whether he asked for one–I know he did not appeal his original sentence. Did he?
This is not a feminist issue. It’s simply she was the only one of the couple to speak up.
Look for example in comparison in the Dubai rape trial where a boy was raped by a gang of men and then threatened with risk of prosecution for homosexuality. Support was loud and clear for him.
Gui Quandt:
According to this press release both were pardoned.
http://www.spa.gov.sa/English/details.php?id=510329
Without sounding like a sexist, I think I can safely he owes her a big thanks. She fought the battle alone and he shares in the benefit.
I am happy for the girl. I hope she will be able to put it behind her as much as possible – although she will cary the scars for the rest of her life for sure.
abu joori said it all
another thing what about a miserable court that changed an opinion the moment the case became public while other ppl didn’t have that luck and that interest from CNN newspapers and political candidates in america
if our whole justice system is ready to change a judicial order if hilary clinton or CNN made some noise about it then it’s a real disaster
what’s the solution ????
kick that judge and punish him
gather a new wise confident judicial team and cancel the old conclusions and start a new round with taking care of all aspects and apply it’s orders if candidate hilary likes it or not
Hi, I saw this news yesterday here on Brasilian TV. It was a surprised to me. And let me say A GOOD surprise, specially for her (the girl) and all womans in KSA. Thanks for keeping this blog, this speace for talking and share opinions.
THIS WHOLE STORY IS HORRENDOUS AND BARBERIC. I THINK THE KING DID THE RIGHT THING. THIS POOR GIRL IS GOING SUFFER THE REST OF HER LIFE, IT WAS THE LEAST THING THE KING COULD DO.
AHMED, THANKS FOR WRITING ON THIS STORY. IT HAS BROUGHT LIGHT AND LIFE TO THIS STORY THAT COULD AND WOULD HAVE ORDINARILY BEEN THROWN UNDER THE RUG.
And the deathly Unlissted joins another intellectual discourse….stunning us all with his/her committment to poison for breakfast, poison for lunch, and poison with kapsa! This reminds me of a quote that I learned recently….”If there were no religion, good people would do good things and bad people would do bad things. But religion is the only thing that makes good people do bad things.” Unlissted, you may have stayed true to some principle that you believe in sincerely….but it is for all of us to see how far you’ve fallen from Truth. What kind of example are you? What are the ontological and theological implications….if you hold the Truth? What a truly sad and horrific existence it would be. Are the dark ages really over? The Islamic Empire was kind enough to save the scholarly works of Math and Science for the Western Renaissance to begin. I hope we will find a way to return the favour. May the light provided by modern technology in all it’s forms shine into all the dark places. Camera phones are legal in the country….everyone will be watching….and filming….lift a hand in violence…they’ll be filming….show us hypocrisy…they’ll be filming. When girls started getting educated in the 1960’s….that was the beginning of the end of the current dark age. If you weren’t able to keep the ladies chained up like the Taleban….then…a never ending struggle for equality and independence will go on. Human Kind has evolved more in the last 5000 years than at any other time in human existence. You may be sincere. But sincerity….at the end of the day is B.S…..I recommend the Book….”On B.S.”(name abbreviated for sensitivity…..something that our fellow blogger seems to be lacking. Check it out if you will folks! Unlissted raised the issue of “sect” in another thread…suggesting a bias by our resident writer/blogger.) Sincerity is not an excuse. I wonder if we would have computers in Unlissted’s ideal world?
On to more pleasant thoughts…I hope those observing Eid had a wonderful time!!!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year for others. Season’s Greetings to All….even Unlissted..even as he channels Scrooge in the 21st century! :)
Robyn gravely-stupid it’s obvious you know nothing about islam…like the rest of the ignoramuses!!!!!!!!!!!The women was married and found naked with another man……she should of recieved more then what they gave her……Your western mind doesnt understand islam….so mind your business……..and mentioning being chained up …that’s why your western culture and freedom….gives you nothing but gay marriages and children out of wedlock and all types of other filth!!!!Unlissted2007..
Justice and Sense !
I believe most of the people that agree with King Abdualla do so because the media manipulated their emotions.
There were two violations in the story:
1. The woman was in “5olwa” with another guy
2. Men raped her
Two violations and One punishment !
where is the common sense !!
Same way the men were punished for their acts .. the woman must be punished for her own violation of “law”
When someone breaks in into your house and you catch him as he is leaving with the TV, you beat the crap out of him !!
you’ll get punished for beating the hell out of th guy although he didn’t try to physically harm you
and the thief would still be punished ! because of his attempt to steal from you !
That would be common sense and justice
I just recently stumbled across this story about this unfortunate girl. May heaven bless her for her courage and also bless her husband. The husband is a good man. Any man, regardless of race and religion would have had a difficult time handling such an event in their married life and he stuck to it and defended her and took her side like any man should. God bless him for being enlightened. He is one of the few Saudi men out there who should remain in the world.