JEDDAH, 5 May 2006 — The court of cassation in Riyadh returned the infamous Al-Nahda Tunnel sexual-harassment case back to the lower court after hearing arguments from one of the lawyers in the case. The lawyer argued against the lower court’s ruling handing down sentences to 11 youths.
Lawyer Saad Ibn Zuair had appealed to the cassation court after the lower court on Jan. 20 sentenced the youths to jail terms ranging from four months to 12 years and 300 to 600 lashes.
“The high court returned the case to the same judge asking him to reconsider his ruling,” Zuair said in a phone interview with Arab News. He said that the judge would either reduce the sentences or retain them.
If the judge insists on his decision, the cassation court will transfer the case to another judge for overall review.
“The young men are still in prison without bail,” said Zuair. “We are waiting for the (lower court) judge to call us and inform us of his decision,” said Zuair.
Nine Saudis and two Palestinians were found guilty of involvement in a widely publicized sexual-harassment crime against two teenage girls that occurred in October in a pedestrian tunnel in Riyadh. The incident, which involved criminal physical harassment of the young women but not rape, was recorded by some of the perpetrators via mobile phone cameras and distributed widely by Bluetooth and on the Internet. It was this footage that alerted people to the crime. Zuair said that the judge in the case did not view the footage that would help exonerate his clients. He said he hoped the evidence would be produced during the appeal.
Zuair initially had three clients at the time of the trial but he has since taken on an additional client in the case. Zuair’s four clients are facing between six and 10 years in prison. “My clients are innocent,” said Zuair, adding that their only crime is that they use to hang out in the area where the incident took place.
The lawyer said the youths were being used as “scapegoats” to calm those who were shocked by the indecent video footage.
