JEDDAH, 8 December 2005 — The high school teacher Mohammad Al-Harbi, who was accused of mocking religion and was sentenced to three years in prison and 750 lashes on Nov. 14, has had all charges dropped against him, according to a Saudi security adviser.
Another source close to Al-Harbi’s case assured Arab News that all charges against Al-Harbi had been dropped for good.
Al-Harbi’s problems began a year-and-a-half ago when a number of 12th grade students, along with some teachers from the same school, filed a lawsuit against him.
He was accused of mocking Islam, favoring Jews and Christians, and preventing students from performing ablutions for their prayers. He was also charged with studying witchcraft.
At the time, he was a chemistry teacher at Al-Fowailiq High School in the town of Al-Fowailiq, in Al-Qassim.
— With input from Rasheed Abou-Alsamh
