THE INDEPENDENT.IE - by John Masterson - Since the first session of his 1000 lashes the torture has been postponed each week as the religious police feel that it is important that you are in good health when you are flogged. There is no shortage of time. He also got ten years in jail for his ‘crime’. Mind you, it could be worse. They decided not to try him for apostasy, departing from his religion, and if found guilty that carried the death sentence. It is enough to make you want to lodge a complaint to the UN Human Rights Council.
I have been in Saudi Arabia. I met with nothing but generous hospitality and friendliness. It never occurred to me that I was committing thought crimes punishable by death. A simple sentence like “I wonder what God, if there is a God, would think about having to get children baptised to get into a school” commits all of the essential crimes.
11
Jan