III 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 406 

Urging the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to overturn the 

sentence of the ‘‘Girl of Qatif’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 14, 2007 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. BIDEN, Mrs. DOLE, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. 

LIEBERMAN, Mr. LEVIN, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. SMITH, Mrs. 

FEINSTEIN, Mrs. CLINTON, Ms. LANDRIEU, and Mr. SPECTER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Urging the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 

to overturn the sentence of the ‘‘Girl of Qatif’’. 

Whereas, in March 2006, the then-teenage woman known in 

media reports as the ‘‘Girl of Qatif’’ was abducted and 

raped by 7 men; 

Whereas the ‘‘Girl of Qatif’’ endured significant physical and 

emotional harm as a result of her rape—a crime that was 

neither her fault nor acceptable under any circumstances; 

Whereas, in October 2006, the General Court in Qatif, Saudi 

Arabia sentenced the 7 rapists to prison terms ranging 

from 10 months to 5 years, but also sentenced the victim 

to 90 lashes for being alone in a car with a man to whom 

she was not related; 


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•SRES 406 IS 

Whereas, on November 13, 2007, when the ‘‘Girl of Qatif’’ 

appealed the decision of the General Court with her attorney, Abdul-Rahman al-Lahem, the victim’s sentence 

was increased to 200 lashes, a 6-month prison term was 

added, and the prison terms of the rapists were increased 

to 2 to 9 years; 

Whereas, also on November 13, 2007, the General Court suspended Abdul-Rahman al-Lahem’s license to practice law, 

and he was summoned to appear before a disciplinary 

committee of the Ministry of Justice of Saudi Arabia on 

December 5, 2007, for allegedly ‘‘misrepresenting legal 

subjects through the media to confuse the judicial establishment’s image and thus harming the country’’, but his 

hearing was postponed to an unspecified date; 

Whereas, on November 20 and 24, 2007, the Ministry of Justice issued statements on the case of the ‘‘Girl of Qatif’’, 

alleging that the victim was guilty of an ‘‘illegal affair’’ 

that is ‘‘religiously prohibited’’, that she was in ‘‘an indecent condition’’ at the time of her abduction, and that 

‘‘the main reason for the occurrence of the crime’’ was 

that the victim and her accompanying person ‘‘violated 

the provisions of Islamic law’’, but Abdul-Rahman alLahem has denied these accusations; 

Whereas, when asked about the case of the ‘‘Girl of Qatif’’ 

on November 20, 2007, Department of State spokesman 

Sean McCormack stated, ‘‘We have expressed our astonishment at such a sentence. I think that when you look 

at the crime and the fact that now the victim is punished, 

I think that causes a fair degree of surprise and astonishment. But it is within the power of the Saudi Government to take a look at the verdict and change it’’; 


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•SRES 406 IS 

Whereas, on November 27, 2007, the Foreign Minister of 

Saudi Arabia, Prince Saud bin Faisal bin Abd al-Aziz Al 

Saud, stated that the judiciary of Saudi Arabia would 

further review the case of the ‘‘Girl of Qatif’’; 

Whereas the Department of State’s 2006 Country Report on 

Human Rights Practices in Saudi Arabia (referred to in 

this preamble as the 2006 Country Report), released on 

March 6, 2007, cited ‘‘significant human rights problems’’, including ‘‘infliction of severe pain by judicially 

sanctioned corporal punishments’’, ‘‘denial of fair public 

trials’’, ‘‘exemption from the rule of law for some individuals and lack of judicial independence’’, and ‘‘significant 

restriction of civil liberties—freedoms of speech and 

press, including the Internet; assembly; association; and 

movement’’; 

Whereas the 2006 Country Report also stated that Islamic 

law, or Shari’a, prohibits abuse and violence against all 

innocent persons, including women, yet reportedly spousal abuse and other forms of violence against women were 

common problems, although the Government did not keep 

statistics on such violence and abuse; 

Whereas the 2006 Country Report also cited complaints that 

‘‘judges often acted capriciously and did not base judgments on precedent, leading to widely divergent rulings’’; 

Whereas the 2006 Country Report also stated that, ‘‘A woman’s testimony does not carry the same weight as a man. 

In a Shari’a court, the testimony of one man equals that 

of two women’’; 

Whereas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, done at 

Paris December 10, 1948, stipulates that all human 

beings have the right to security of person, that, ‘‘All are 


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equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law’’, and that, 

‘‘No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment’’; 

Whereas the legal system of Saudi Arabia is based on Shari’a 

and does not mandate specific punishments for many offenses, leaving judges with wide discretion in issuing verdicts; and 

Whereas, in October 2007, the King of Saudi Arabia, 

Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, issued a decree to reform aspects of the country’s judicial system, including 

new training for judges, changes to the appeals process, 

and the establishment of two supreme courts to replace 

the Supreme Judicial Council as the final recourse after 

courts of first instance and appellate courts: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) respects the sovereign rights of the King3 dom of Saudi Arabia; 

4 (2) welcomes the commitment of the Govern5 ment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to reform its 

6 judicial system; 

7 (3) condemns sexual violence in all forms; 

8 (4) urges the Government of the Kingdom of 

9 Saudi Arabia to undertake robust efforts to address 

10 the significant problem of violence against women in 

11 the society of Saudi Arabia, to promote equal treat12 ment of women in the country’s legal system, and to 


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1 ensure that victims of sexual violence are not pun2 ished for the crimes committed against them and 

3 have access to and recourse through the country’s 

4 legal system to bring the perpetrators of such vio5 lence to justice; 

6 (5) urges the Government of the Kingdom of 

7 Saudi Arabia to overturn the sentence of the ‘‘Girl 

8 of Qatif’’ of 200 lashes and 6 months in prison; and 

9 (6) expresses solidarity with the ‘‘Girl of Qatif’’ 

10 and the women of Saudi Arabia in their efforts to 

11 address violence against women and attain equal 

12 treatment in their country’s legal system, and with 

13 the many citizens of Saudi Arabia who were out14 raged by the sentence of the ‘‘Girl of Qatif’’. 

Æ 


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