A Saudi court has jailed a Lebanese man for six years and sentenced him to 300 lashes after convicting him of encouraging a Saudi woman to convert to Christianity, Saudi dailies reported today. The case caused a stir in Saudi Arabia, which applies a strict version of Sharia that stipulates Muslims who convert to another religion must be sentenced to death.
The woman, known only as “the girl of Khobar,” was granted refuge in Sweden where she is living under the protection of an unspecified organization, according to local press reports. The woman had appeared in a YouTube video last year in which she announced that she had chosen to convert to Christianity.
Her family’s lawyer Hmood al-Khalidi said he was “satisfied with the verdict”.