AL-SHAMLI, Saudi Arabia — A 75-year-old widow in Saudi Arabia was sentenced to 40 lashes and four months in jail for allowing two young men who are not close relatives to enter her home.
Khamisa Sawadi, who is Syrian but was married to a Saudi man, asked Fahd al-Anzi, her late husband’s nephew, and Hadiyan bin Zein, the nephew’s friend and business partner, to bring her five loaves of bread. Saudi Arabia’s rigid interpretation of Islamic Shariah law prohibits men and women who are not immediate relatives from interacting.
The March 3 verdict ordered Sawadi’s punishment and called for her to be deported after serving her sentence. The two men also were convicted and sentenced to lashes and prison time. The woman’s lawyer, Abdel Rahman al-Lahem, said he planned to appeal the verdict.
The court based its ruling on “citizen information” and testimony from al-Anzi’s father, who accused Sawadi of corruption. “How can a verdict be issued based on suspicion?” asked a columnist for the Al Watan newspaper. “A group of people are misusing religion to serve their own interests.” (TAB)
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