I am going to be a bit cynical here and perhaps even a bit raw - but we all so accustomed to news articles reporting on the Middle Eastern countries and their utter lack of respect for Human Rights (Saudi Arabia in particular) and after being bombarded with these reports over both visual and audio media outlets for years - do you, as I suppose, think we are becomming somewhat de-sensitised towards them?

Like we almost expect it?

It definately loses its punch when we hear about the same punishment (x amount of lashings) being dished out on unworthy citizens you have to admit. It sounds like I am being very ho-hum about the attrocities being committed and I have to say I find them as disgustingly unfair and cruel, perhaps even more than the next person, but I think when we live in NZ - realistically so isolated from the rest of the world, these stories seem to take on a "other world" type of feeling. Now I am not saying we dont care, or we aren't rightly appalled by these stories but over the years you definatley become "casually shocked" instead.

I found this article on the CNN website and actually thought it sounds like there is quite a shake up of ideas and ideals in Saudi Arabia, with major changes to the cabinet, (and certainly a lot of world wide attention and pressure may be accountable for these changes) and it seems more and more citizens are speaking out against the "crimes" and punishements of their country which will hopefully allow for some measure of change to occur.

I know only time will tell if these changes in the cabinet will really bring any major (or minor) reforms to the country - possibly they were only made in the first place for the facade they can offer the Monarchy when it so clearly is under the international communities watch.

Or maybe like Levitsky and Way have said - trying to Westernise the world is not without its own problems and with out the culture backing any sort of reform or change there really wont be any. Maybe Saudi Arabia has been ruled by fear with the facade of religion for so long, any change will be a dauntingly slow process. As Al-Huwaider states in this article below, the problem lies with seeing the bad in everyone and everything they do - it no longer is a religious rule in Saudi, its all about the control.



(CNN) -- A Saudi Arabian court has sentenced a 75-year-old Syrian woman to 40 lashes, four months imprisonment and deportation from the kingdom for having two unrelated men in her house, according to local media reports.

According to the Saudi daily newspaper Al-Watan, troubles for the woman, Khamisa Mohammed Sawadi, began last year when a member of the religious police entered her house in the city of Al-Chamli and found her with two unrelated men, "Fahd" and "Hadian."

Fahd told the policeman he had the right to be there, because Sawadi had breast-fed him as a baby and was therefore considered to be a son to her in Islam, according to Al-Watan. Fahd, 24, added that his friend Hadian was escorting him as he delivered bread for the elderly woman. The policeman then arrested both men.

Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam called Wahhabism and punishes unrelated men and women who are caught mingling.

The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, feared by many Saudis, is made up of several thousand religious policemen charged with duties such as enforcing dress codes, prayer times and segregation of the sexes. Under Saudi law, women face many restrictions, including a strict dress code and a ban on driving. Women also need to have a man's permission to travel.

Al Watan obtained the court's verdict and reported it was partly based on the testimony of the religious police. In his ruling, the judge said it was proved that Fahd is not Sawadi's son through breastfeeding.

The court also doled out punishment to the two men. Fahd was sentenced to four months in prison and 40 lashes; Hadian was sentenced to six months in prison and 60 lashes. In a phone call with Al Watan, the judge declined to comment and suggested the newspaper review the case with the Ministry of Justice. Sawadi told the newspaper that she will appeal, adding that Fahd is indeed her son through breastfeeding.

A top Saudi human rights lawyer, Abdulrahman Al-Lahem, volunteered to defend the woman and the two men and has been given power of attorney by them. He told CNN he plans to file an appeal in the case next week.
Efforts to reach Saudi officials at the Justice Ministry, religious police and other agencies were unsuccessful. A spokesman for the Saudi embassy in Washington said he had no details on the case.

The case sparked anger in Saudi Arabia.

"It's made everybody angry because this is like a grandmother," Saudi women's rights activist Wajeha Al-Huwaider told CNN. "Forty lashes -- how can she handle that pain? You cannot justify it."

This is not the first Saudi court case to cause controversy.

In 2007, a 19-year-old gang-rape victim in the Saudi city of Qatif was sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison for meeting with an unrelated male. The seven rapists, who abducted the woman and man, received sentences ranging from 10 months to five years in prison.

The case sparked international outrage and Saudi King Abdullah subsequently pardoned the "Qatif Girl" and the unrelated male.

Al-Lahem, who has taken on many high-profile cases in recent years, represented the girl and received an award from Human Rights Watch last year. However, a travel ban issued by Saudi authorities kept him from traveling to London, England, to receive it.

Many Saudis hope the Ministry of Justice will be reformed. Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz announced in February a major Cabinet reshuffling in which many hard-line conservatives, including the head of the commission, were dismissed and replaced with younger, more moderate members.

The new appointments represented the largest shakeup since King Abdullah took power in 2005 and were welcomed in Saudi Arabia as progressive moves on the part of the king, whom many see as a reformer.

Among ministers who've been replaced is the minister of justice.

The actions of the religious police have come under increased scrutiny in Saudi Arabia recently, as more and more Saudis urge that the commission's powers be limited.

Last week, the religious police detained two male novelists for questioning after they tried to get the autograph of a female writer, Halima Muzfar, at a book fair in Riyadh, the capital of the kingdom.

"This is the problem with the religious police," added Al-Huwaider, "watching people and thinking they're bad all the time. It has nothing to do with religion. It's all about control. And the more you spread fear among people, the more you control them. It's giving a bad reputation to the country."


Do you think Saudi is capable of change at the moment?
Do you think these cabinet changes will make any difference?
Is it another example of Authoritarian rule making the pretense of change and reform to keep both domestic and internationa scrutanty at bay?

How do you feel about this punishement on a grandma?
Are you becomming de-sensitised because of the medias constant attention on these stories? (The more sensationalistic they are the more papers they sell arguement?)