February 8, 2008
When Drinking Coffee In Saudi Is Illegal - Update
The case of a 37-year old mother-of-three, arrested by religious police for being in the presence of an unrelated male at a Starbucks coffee shop in the Saudi capital, continues to make waves.
Sources close to the story tell CNN the woman in question is of Palestinian origin and holds a U.S. passport. She lives in the coastal city of Jeddah and travels on business to the more conservative capital, Riyadh, once a week. Sources tell CNN the woman was taken away fromt the Starbucks, threatened with violence, left incommunicado for hours, forced to sign a confession and was strip searched in prison. Sources add that the man she was with at the Starbucks, a Syrian national, is actually the woman's employee. He has indicated that he is unwilling to speak out for fear of being deported from Saudi Arabia. The woman, whose first name is Yara, was detained for several hours before being released to her husband. They are now both back in Jeddah. -- Producer Mohammed Jamjoom contributed to this update. 7 Comments
Add a comment
Where is our individual Human Rights on this situation? That is purely considered as harrassment. Before a "government rep" can arrest anybody, he must have a warrant of arrest. I feel so sorry for Yana.
FACT: The wife of prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him), Khadeja, was a businesswoman. She naturally had to meet and deal a lot of men in her trading business.
The numbers of comments to this blog entry is outrageous, nobody cares, well why does the international cumunity just ignore womens'condition in Saudi Arabia?
Thats why we are against to this headscarf in Turkey,because we know sure that If headscarf ban is lifted in some areas(for instance universities),it will be only the beginning of such kind of events in Turkey.This is a big potential threat on our secularism...
I do not pretend to understand the Sharia laws or the Saudi legal system. But I do not feel that this was a case of substance, but seems rather over reactionary. I hope that Yana is well and can move past her humiliating experience.
after reading about such an incident, it's hard to believe we're actually living in the 21st century ...
i am a firm believer that the problem in saudi arabia is not the sharia law, it's the fact that it is not practiced and that the religious police uses religion as an excuse to justify unfairness, violence and the authoritarian regime. given the fact that the kingdom is extremely closed as a country, it is not surprising that citizens feel the need to express their frustration. all the country's rules and laws are based on hypocrite values.
What would have happend to this lady if her husband didn't have the good connections to get her out of trouble? Citizens in this country have no rights.
Not long ago there was the case of a maid that died of starvation at the hands of her local employers. There is also the case of a married couple with kids, that were forcibly divorced simply because the wife's brother made a request to the court. A family has been destroyed. There are bad people everywhere in the world but the fact that people get away with the most awful crimes in Saudi Arabia really worries me. It seems the innocent are the ones to suffer and to be punished. Please keep on bringing these stories to the public eye - it is the only way this country will move out of the dark ages. |
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Welcome to the Inside the Middle East blog. Our reporters, producers, cameramen and editors will regularly add to this with colorful behind-the-scene stories. This page is about how we put the show together -- from on-location shoots to the editing room -- as well as for anecdotes and stories that don't always make it into our finished on-air product.
SHOWTIMES
Inside the Middle East airs 1st full weekend of every month and the following Thursday.Saturday (1st Saturday of every month) 0730, 1330, 1830 (all regions) Sunday (1st Sunday of every month) 1130, 1730 (all regions) Thursday (1st Thursday of every month) 1330, 1730 (all regions) (All times GMT) I-Report
The region is a blend of cultures and landscapes that can be both harsh and beautiful. What is your Middle East like? Share your stories, photos. ARCHIVE
• 11/25/07 - 12/2/07• 12/2/07 - 12/9/07 • 12/9/07 - 12/16/07 • 12/16/07 - 12/23/07 • 12/23/07 - 12/30/07 • 12/30/07 - 1/6/08 • 1/6/08 - 1/13/08 • 1/13/08 - 1/20/08 • 1/20/08 - 1/27/08 • 1/27/08 - 2/3/08 • 2/3/08 - 2/10/08 • 2/10/08 - 2/17/08 • 2/17/08 - 2/24/08 • 2/24/08 - 3/2/08 • 3/2/08 - 3/9/08 • 3/9/08 - 3/16/08 • 3/16/08 - 3/23/08 • 3/23/08 - 3/30/08 • 3/30/08 - 4/6/08 • 4/6/08 - 4/13/08 • 4/13/08 - 4/20/08 • 4/20/08 - 4/27/08 • 4/27/08 - 5/4/08 • 5/4/08 - 5/11/08 • 5/11/08 - 5/18/08 • 5/18/08 - 5/25/08 • 5/25/08 - 6/1/08 • 6/1/08 - 6/8/08 • 6/8/08 - 6/15/08 |
