JEDDAH, 18 February — A special court in Jeddah has sentenced a Saudi national to 4,750 lashes and six-year jail for committing adultery with his sister-in-law. The woman was sentenced to six months in prison and 65 lashes.
The woman complained to police that her sister’s husband had raped her and forced her to continue sexual relations by threatening to scandalize her. She said the man took her to a factory owned by him and made advances to her there. She said she agreed to have sex with him several times, fearing that he would make the scandal public.
The woman told the court that she decided to confess after knowing that her cousins were aware of the affair. She also revealed that the man had assaulted another of her sisters. The man refused to admit the charges at first, but later said that he had sex with her. “It all took place with her full consent,” he added. But the woman refuted his claim saying he had used witchraft to seduce her.
