JAFFA, Israel–In front of the entrance to a high school, Saudi law enforcement authorities dispensed a series of lashes to a Saudi man accused of attempted to kidnapping a minor.
The man was sentenced to 450 lashes in total. According to Aljazeera’s Arabic website, some of the lashes were meted out just outside a high school in the town of Aniza. The goal is to carry out the punishment in front of various high schools within the city, where the defendant’s face would be exposed to the public.
In the last few days, Saudi authorities gave the man lashes in front of several schools, with the full 450 lashes expected to be completed in the upcoming days.
The case has received wide-scale attention on Saudi social networks, with many expressing their support for the punishment, claiming that it would contribute to deterring others from committing a similar crime.
The European Union and international human rights organizations have in the past condemned the Saudi Kingdom’s use of lashes as punishment, which, in some verdicts, has reached up to 40,000 lashes.
According to Islam, lashings are usually reserved for drinkers of alcohol or those accused of having sexual relations outside the framework of Muslim law. Saudi Arabia has extended the punishment to other kinds of “criminals,” including youngsters who tried to “pick up” women, thieves, and other wrongdoers.
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