Saudis order 40 lashes for elderly woman for mingling

Saudi Babylon is a shocking tale of a miscarriage of justice, but more disturbingly, it reveals how the British government behaves when one of its citizens is imprisoned by a regime with which it does business.

When Sandy Mitchell was arrested for his alleged involvement in two bombings in Saudi Arabia in December 2000, he thought it was a case of mistaken identity and that he would soon be released. Instead, he spent the next two-and-half-years in jail, where he was repeatedly tortured, before being forced to sign a confession and admit his guilt on Saudi television.

Throughout his incarceration the Saudi authorities knew that the attacks were the work of al-Qaeda militants. Yet they kept Mitchell in jail and refused him access to a lawyer for a year, during which time he was sentenced to death. His eventual release came before the penalty could be imposed.

Based on diaries and records of meetings with ministers and officials, this is a powerful exposé of how the British government acts when one of its own citizens is illegally imprisoned and tortured by a regime with which it does business.

Briton jailed for drink den to get 800 lashes

By Chris Gray

Wednesday, 10 April 2002
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A Briton who ran an underground drinking club in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to 800 lashes and eight years in prison by a secret court hearing at which he had no legal representation.

A Briton who ran an underground drinking club in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to 800 lashes and eight years in prison by a secret court hearing at which he had no legal representation.

Gary O'Nions, 56, was also fined £400,000 for operating the Empire Club in Riyadh. British officials were not aware he was to appear in court until they were told of his sentence by the Saudi authorities on 2 April, the day after his hearing.

O'Nions was one of several Britons arrested in Saudi Arabia after a series of car bombings in November 2000, one of which killed a British businessman, Christopher Rodway. The Saudi authorities linked the bombings to a turf war between illicit drinking clubs and launched a crackdown on alcohol dealing.

O'Nions fled to Dubai but was extradited in March last year on charges that related only to illegal alcohol trading. He intends to appeal against his sentence.

A Foreign Office spokes-woman confirmed O'Nions' sentence on "alcohol-related charges" yesterday and said it had previously asked the Saudi authorities to keep it informed when Britons were due in court. She said the Foreign Office had previously made clear to Saudi Arabia that Britain regarded corporal punishment as an infringement of human rights.

Five Britons still held in Saudi Arabia could face execution on charges of planting bombs to attack rivals in the alcohol trade. Although some were shown confessing on television, British officials are hopeful they will be pardoned. Last December four other Britons sentenced to floggings for dealing in alcohol, but not implicated in the bombing campaign, were pardoned and allowed home.

it says:

''Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam called Wahhabism and punishes unrelated men and women who are caught mingling.''

I disagree.....there is one law for the rich Sheikhs and the Royal Family................and another law for the Americans and Europeans.............and yet another law is applied to Saudi Nationals................and sadly the worst law (cutting off hands) to the Moslems from poor countries like Pakistan etc.

It's the ultimate state of terror and corruption...........and enjoys favourite trading status with America.............thw British etc.

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I was a member of the illegal EMPIRE CLUB when I had a business in Riyadh, but I had luckily left when a lot of my friends ended up in Saudi jail. Not pleasant I am told. click on link above.