Saudis lash mobile users

Submitted by Varun Krish on April 18, 2005 – 3:32 pm

SAUDI ARABIA, a kingdom known for its tough literal stand on Islamic law, has brought its interpretations of the religion into the 21st century.

From now on anyone caught using mobile camera phones to distribute pornography may face up to 1000 lashes, a 12-year jail term and a 100,000 riyal (about 10,000 pound) fine.

This follows the case of three men sentenced to jail and up to 1,200 lashes each for orchestrating and filming the rape of a teenage girl using telephones equipped with cameras and distributing the footage via the telephones.

The law is likely to be backed by the conservative Muslim kingdom’s consultative 150-member Shura council.

The local papers consider the main focus of the law is to deal with the use of third generation (3G) mobile phones for “immoral” purposes. This ranges from receiving high-quality video clips from adult sites and the “invasion of privacy of women”. This invasion constitutes the taking snaps of unveiled women at weddings and so on.
Inquirer, UK
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