Saudi Arabia’s Higher Judicial Council has sentenced a 19 year-old Shiite woman, who was a victim of a gang rape by six heavily armed Sunni Muslims, to 200 lashes and six months in jail simply for telling her story to the media. The judges initially sentenced the woman to 90 lashes because the victim was “in the care of an unrelated male at the time of the rape," but decided to increase the punishment due to “her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media." The strict Islamic doctrine followed by the Saudi Arabian government forbids unrelated men and women from socializing with each other. It also bans women from driving or being seen in public without being covered head to toe.
While the court did sentence the attackers to between two and nine years in prison, members of the Shiite community are still angered by the perceived prejudicial treatment of the Shiite woman in the predominantly Sunni country.
Compiled from: "19-Year Old Saudi Rape Victim Ordered to Undergo 200 Lashes," Fox News, 15 November 2007