Injustice Sinks to New Low: Saudi Rape Victim Sentenced to 200 Lashes and 6 Months Jail

You know, I'd like to find it in me somewhere to repeat the politically correct refrains about our Muslim friends, but the "Religion of Peace" is at it again.

A gang rape victim from Saudi Arabia is facing six months in jail and 200 lashes for appealing her initial sentence of 90 lashes. Read that last sentence again. I had to when I read the BBC story about this case. A woman who was gang raped 14 times is facing six months in jail and 200 lashes because "justice" officials in Saudi Arabia feel the victim tried influencing the judicial process in the media.

The victim of this hideous crime was sentenced to the first 90 lashes for breaking Saudi Arabia's segregation of the sexes law. At the time of attack she was in a car with a man she is not related to and was then subjected to the most brutal experience imaginable. Instead of getting justice, sympathy, and support she faces a flogging.

"My client is the victim of this abhorrent crime. I believe her sentence contravenes the Islamic Sharia law and violates the pertinent international conventions," said the victim's lawyer, Abdel Rahman al-Lahem.

That's where the religious angle comes in. Saudi Arabia supposedly runs its nation in accordance with Islamic law.

You know what? I'm ready to be a politically incorrect elitist here! We're being told by talking heads and demagogues that all cultures and religions are equally good and valid and have their own truths and values. That's wrong. It's wrong! I'm not willing to concede that. I recognize the world is a complicated place and what I don't understand about it could fill every library in every country of the world. I don't claim to have any particular expertise in diplomacy, law, religion, or politics. The good news is you don't need that kind of expertise to see how wrong this is. There are occasions where there is right and wrong, good and evil, and there is no in between. The Saudi judicial system and the human debris that perpetrated the vile attack on this woman are wrong and evil. Any religion or culture that condones this belongs on the scrapheap. You cannot think this is okay and be a good person; there is no gray area. It's a good thing I'm not president of the United States. I do believe I'd launch a nuclear attack over something like this!

Are you ready for the punchline? Seven men were convicted of raping this woman and are serving prison sentences ranging from one to five years. I oppose the death penalty, but it's cases like this that tempt me to re-think my position. Okay, I don't want these thugs executed, but I'm thinking we can find something appropriate somewhere between the gallows and what they got. The law this woman is convicted of breaking is absurd. The initial punishment is beyond cruel. The increased punishment takes barbarism to an entirely new level.

I've gone through my thesaurus looking for words to properly convey the revulsion and anger this story has stirred in me. I've run out of words.