RIYADH, 13 March 2004 — A court in Riyadh sentenced a Saudi teacher accused of denouncing religion to three years in jail and 300 lashes. The man was banned from teaching and writing in newspapers.
The court dropped an apostasy charge but found him guilty on other charges of blasphemy. The court took statements from three witnesses under the age of 15 in addition to other teachers at the same school.
According to students, the teacher “allowed” what was religiously forbidden such as homosexuality and adultery. He also referred to the Syrian poet Nizar Qabani as “Nizar (peace be upon him).”
The case began last December with the court hearing a succession of witnesses that praised his morality.
Both the accused and the prosecutor disagree with the verdict.
According to Asharq Al-Awsat, the teacher said, “I was not surprised at the decision. I have expected it since the court put me in prison before I even went on trial.
The judge wanted to impose the maximum punishment on me. They accepted the case from the prosecutor without any investigation.
