60 Lashes Not Enough

For the "woman" journalist, the young 22-year-old, whose role was "a coordinator and the one who prepared and advertised the program." My gosh. Who knew that women were even allowed to be employed in such a capacity, here? The public prosecutor says her punishment "is too light and not in sync with her role..." What punishment are you looking for? It isn't enough that the young woman's life - along with the lives of the other six people involved - is now so tarnished that she will probably never be able to get another job in the media in any capacity ever again?

The man at the center of this whole debacle is Mazen Abdul Jawad, a 30-something-year-old divorced father, who went on television over on this side of the world and bragged about his xesual exploits. Dumb ass. Shortly after the program, "Bold Red Line," aired, the uproar started and people were calling for his head - literally and figuratively. The man's lawyer, Suleiman Al-Jumaei, says that it is his client's position that he was set up, and "that the LBC edited and re-contextualized a long video shoot into a short segment to present him in the worst possible light." Was a crime committed by Abdul Jawad? Not knowing what the laws are, I have no idea. But the fact that what he did "goes against the religious values and traditions of Saudi Arabia" was, apparently, more than enough to warrant that he be thrown in prison for five years and sentenced to receive 1000 lashes. In defending Abdul Jawad his lawyer says it is "the channel that violated these values first when it filmed the segment." Nothing like taking personal responsibility. It is "the channel's" fault.

Oh, and R.A.'s fault. She is the media person from LBC - the young woman who isn't being lashed enough.