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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 406 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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;
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 al-Lahem 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'';
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 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
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) respects the sovereign rights of the Kingdom of Saudi 
        Arabia;
            (2) welcomes the commitment of the Government of the 
        Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to reform its judicial system;
            (3) condemns sexual violence in all forms;
            (4) urges the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to 
        undertake robust efforts to address the significant problem of 
        violence against women in the society of Saudi Arabia, to 
        promote equal treatment of women in the country's legal system, 
        and to ensure that victims of sexual violence are not punished 
        for the crimes committed against them and have access to and 
        recourse through the country's legal system to bring the 
        perpetrators of such violence to justice;
            (5) urges the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to 
        overturn the sentence of the ``Girl of Qatif'' of 200 lashes 
        and 6 months in prison; and
            (6) expresses solidarity with the ``Girl of Qatif'' and the 
        women of Saudi Arabia in their efforts to address violence 
        against women and attain equal treatment in their country's 
        legal system, and with the many citizens of Saudi Arabia who 
        were outraged by the sentence of the ``Girl of Qatif''.
                                 <all>
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