Riyadh (AsiaNews/Agencies) – A woman jailed after being raped could be lashed 100 times. Camille, an invented name, is a 35- year-old immigrant from the Philippines who has been in a Saudi jail since September 2009. As a result of her rape, she became pregnant, but miscarried because of harsh prison life.
Under Saudi Arabia’s rigid application of Sharia or Islamic law, sexual relations outside of wedlock are strictly forbidden, irrespective of whether the woman is consenting or not. In fact, rape is punished in accordance with rules laid down in the Qur‘an.
The woman’s mother told her story in an interview with GMANews.Tv. Last spring, Camille went to Saudi Arabia to work in a dental clinic to support her 5, 14 and 15-year-old children. In August, a co-worker from Bangladesh raped her.
Knowing that extra-marital relations are punishable under Saudi law, she did not go to the police to file charges, and tried instead to leave the country and return to the Philippines.
During a routine medical examination that expatriates must undergo before leaving, doctors found that she was pregnant. An arrest warrant was issued against her and on 11 September 2009, she was locked up in Hafer al Baten Central Jail.
Because of the generally harsh conditions in Saudi prisons, Camille miscarried last December.
According to her mother, she is scheduled to go before the judges who could impose 100 lashes.
This is what people in the West could expect in a few years. An Englishwoman becoming pregnant by her common law husband would constitute an offence to the sensibilities of Muslims living in England. Offending Islam will not be tolarated. That means an English judge in the Old Bailey would pass sentence for her to be whipped in order to appease Islam. This is the fate that awaits the West.
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