JEDDAH: A general court here has sentenced a 23-year-old Yemeni expatriate to two months imprisonment and 60 lashes to be applied in three equal batches after he was found guilty of threatening a Saudi girl of 18 to burn her face with acid and to publish her photograph in the area where she lives if she continues to refuse to go out with him.
The court also reprimanded the girl and her family for entering into an illicit relationship before marriage. The court made her take a pledge never to enter into such relationships again.
The girl had complained to the police that a young Yemeni man, with whom she had an illegitimate relationship for three months, started to blackmail her through mobile messages threatening to publish her photo and burn her face.
The young man told the police that he was intending to marry her and he obtained her photo to show to his parents. He said his threats were only verbal and that he had no intention of harming her.
The police took the matter to the Investigation and Prosecution Commission to complete the list of charges against him prior to sending him to the court. The girl relinquished her personal rights and only demanded that the young man take a solemn pledge not to harass her again.
After considering the list of charges, the court issued a verdict that was accepted by both the girl and the young man.
