Saudi King Abdullah has pardoned a rape victim who had been sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison in a case that sparked international attention, the Al-Jazirah newspaper has reported.
A Saudi court ruled the 19-year-old had an "illegitimate relationship" with a man who was not her husband, and that the rape occurred after she and the man were discovered in a "compromising situation, her clothes on the ground." The attacks took place in Qatif in March 2006 when the woman was engaged to be married.
The woman was meeting with a man -- described by the woman's attorney as a former friend from whom she was retrieving a photograph -- when they both were abducted last March. Seven men were convicted in their abduction and her rape and received sentences ranging from 10 months to five years in jail.
The Saudi lawyer who represented the woman faced a disciplinary hearing for "insulting the Supreme Judicial Council and disobeying the rules and regulations" of the judiciary. The hearing has been postponed.
Abdul Rahman al-Lahem said the rape case had elicited a fierce response, including calls for his beheading.
Under Saudi law, women are subject to numerous restrictions, including a strict dress code, a prohibition against driving and a requirement that they get a man's permission to travel or have surgery.
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