Saudi king steps in, waives lashes for woman scribe
The norm that is followed all over the world
barring a few conservative countries was followed in Saudi Arabia by a TV channel, and that became a serious issue there. The TV journalist Rozanna al-Yami, who prepared the talk show and advertised segments of the show, was found guilty of violating the rules of the country relating to broadcasting.
In the show a Saudi national talked about sex publicly, which according to SA law is prohibited. The judge of a Jeddah court sentenced her flogging by 60 lashes. The matter was taken up strongly by the total media houses in the country. The matter went beyond the jurisdiction of the court and the king interfered. The king with his discretion power freed her from the flogging.
The interesting part of the whole episode is that the charges against her were dropped in the court. In spite of that, the judge pronounced the sentence for which he cited the reason of ‘deterrence’.
The news is a welcome news for the people of Saudi Arabia since harsh punishments are meted out often in that country for minor offences.