First Beheading Under New Saudi King Stirs Attention

[Karmadillo]

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/saudi-arabia-carries-beheading-king-28492388

First Beheading Under New Saudi King Stirs Attention

Saudi Arabia on Monday executed a man convicted of raping several girls in a case that has captured the kingdom's attention and marks the first beheading carried out under the newly enthroned King Salman.

The Interior Ministry said Moussa al-Zahrani was executed in the city of Jiddah. The ministry statement, carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, said al-Zahrani was convicted of luring underage girls, intoxicating them, forcing them to watch pornographic videos and then physically and sexually assaulting them.

His alleged victims were children assaulted in 2011 in a string of attacks in Jiddah.

The case has caused a stir on social media — which is unusual in Saudi Arabia for cases of violent crimes — in part because al-Zahrani claimed his innocence throughout the trial and two later appeals.

Last year, al-Zahrani appealed in a 20-minute video for Saudi King Abdullah, who died on Friday, to intervene. In the widely-viewed video, the 45-year-old Arabic teacher claimed he was framed by police and that a man — a neighbor of 10 years — who accused him of molesting his daughter was also a police investigator in the case.

An Arabic hashtag on Twitter, "We are all Moussa al-Zahrani" garnered thousands of comments by Saudis with conflicting opinions over the case.

Al-Zahrani's relatives appeared on Saudi talk shows, saying the case was riddled with inconsistencies and that the judiciary did not weigh all the evidence. They claimed a medical report found the investigator's 10 year-old daughter had not been assaulted and that several cases of assault against young girls took place in Jiddah while al-Zahrani was already jailed.

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[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. Here comes the new boss, same as the old boss. nt

[Ichingcarpenter]

2. yet Obama and his state department

scold India and Cuba on civil rights......

Why dosen't he take this opportunity on the world stage to say somehting to
this evil kingdom for the world to see and hear?

[Orsino]

6. I'm not expecting the US to declare war on capital punishment abroad.

Not convinced that beheading is much more terrible than what America does daily.

[Ichingcarpenter]

8. False equavalence. ........Yet Gitmo tortures are OK ON CUBAN SOIL?

What about the rapes in america which is higher than India per capital?

The number of women voting in Saudi Arabia, none there is no voting, driving cars ...etc?

Your arguement is bullshit its not just about beheadings......and you know that with your weak rationalization.

[Orsino]

9. What should we argue about?

The weakness of the prosecution's case?

[Ichingcarpenter]

12. Obama's lack of consistent scolding

Of nation's wrong doing...
Vs praising an evil kingdom

[YoungDemCA]

13. You're kidding yourself if you honestly think foreign policy is that simple

nt

[Ichingcarpenter]

16. You're kdding yourself if you see no moral problems with this.

and choose these assholes as allies because Obama says so.


I know the saudis help run the world banking systems and our media.

give me the 28 pages.

[YoungDemCA]

19. Foreign policy is not-and has never been-run on "morals" alone

"The Saudis" are a monolithic group now? How conveniently simplistic and stereotypical. Maybe they think "the Americans" are a monolithic group, too!

As for "the 28 pages"...Graham is selling a book. He was the former Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee-you know, the one that among other things, helps stop terrorist attacks. Like 9/11.

[Ichingcarpenter]

21. the 'saudis' are a royal family........ not a nation

so that' arguement is dead

graham is selling his book........... are you really using that right wing point young democrat who posts all day?

[Orsino]

14. Well, that was my point.

America loves executions and corrupt ideologies. If our president were suddenly to detour into condemning such things, it wouldn't be for a dead ally.

[Ichingcarpenter]

17. OK....... read your post wrong n/t

[JI7]

25. it was Indian citizens who wanted Obama to bring up rights

[Ichingcarpenter]

29. Oh....he was just talking off the cuff

I doubt it.

[merrily]

3. Didn't let any grass grow under his feet, did he?

[oberliner]

4. Is the problem with the degree of punishment, the means of punishment, or the trial itself?

Or perhaps all three?

It seems like the biggest issue here is that this person was convicted of the death penalty on what appears to be flimsy evidence.

Secondarily, the punishment might be considered too harsh for the crime (if guilty).

Lastly, it seems like a less than enlightened way to implement the death penalty.

[hifiguy]

27. My best guess would be that "due process"

in SA is they tell you what you're charged with, promptly find you guilty and then execute you.

[Fred Sanders]

5. The problem is a government that cedes the Ministries of Education and Justice to the religious clerics.

The other problems are all that ultra low cost production sweet oil, being an ally of Israel and a sworn enemy of Iran.

Paradoxes abound.

[Octafish]

7. Tyrants

Dead men tell no tales.

[Jefferson23]

10. The unrest grows. n/t

[Iggo]

11. Meet the new head-chopper. Same as the old head-chopper.

[Ykcutnek]

15. "convicted of raping several girls"

That's a step up from the barbaric nations in the region who stone women for getting raped.

[ScreamingMeemie]

18. Convicted with evidence that proved he didn't do it is the claim.

You need to read the whole piece.

[Ichingcarpenter]

23. Just look at how their court system works... google is your friend

Its a fucking kingdom........ I can't belive we have Saudi defenders now. And you are right

[YoungDemCA]

20. Yes, us Westerners need to bring Civilization (TM) to those 'barbaric nations" in that region

[Ichingcarpenter]

22. OH........the saudis who promote terrorism is your buddy now?

We don't need to bring civilzation to them....... they own part the corrupt system you defend

[Donald Ian Rankin]

26. That's a caricature, obviously, but it's a caricature of a position that's basically right.

Those countries ought to put diplomatic, cultural and economic pressure on other countries to adopt liberal values on gay rights, women's rights, freedom of speech and religion, etc, that are often called "Western", and are currently more prevalent in the West than in the non-West (although by no means unique to it), but should actually be universal.

[Bluenorthwest]

24. When apartheid was going on I lost money by boycotting South Africa

I did the right thing.

[oberliner]

28. Energy independence would certainly help

Maybe that conversation can be re-opened. Though for most people, they are just happy to see cheap gas prices and don't want to do anything that may jeopardize that (and don't particularly care why it's happening).

[Ichingcarpenter]

30. They own part of the banking and media cartel

on this planet.......its no longer about just oil