Thursday, March 7, 2013

Saudi Justice

Saudi Arabia hit the headlines across the globe after a young Saudi prisoner announced that he had been sentenced to crucifixion. The condemned man had been convicted of theft in 2009 and Sharia law in the southern province demanded capital punishment, even though he was 15 at the time of the jewelry store robberies in 2004. "I killed no one. I didn't have weapons while robbing the store, but the police tortured me, beat me up and threatened to assault my mother to extract confessions that I had a weapon with me while I was only 15. We don't deserve death." According to the UK's Guardian, Qahtani faced a judge three times during eight years in detention. He said the judge did not assign a lawyer to defend them and did not listen to complaints of torture. "We showed him the marks of torture and beating, but he didn't listen. I am talking to you now and my relatives are telling me that the soil is prepared for our executions tomorrow." International protests forestalled the executions and the Crown Prince vowed to review the harsh sentences. PRI’s THE WORLD stated that Saudi Arabia defended its handling of the case, saying Islamic law, or Sharia, is “above all.” The BBC, Al-Jazeera, and Drudge Report failed to mention the potential crucifixion, almost as if they were paid to not report this news or the news was a hoax. UPI's mention of the execution refute the latter possibility. Once more Saudi Arabia shows its firm hold on the Dark Ages.

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