bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

A Saudi court sentenced a preacher convicted of raping his five-year-old daughter and torturing her to death to eight years in prison and 800 lashes, a lawyer said yesterday.
In a case that drew public condemnation in the kingdom and abroad, the court also ordered Fayhan al-Ghamdi to pay his ex-wife, the girl's mother, one million riyals (HK$2.1 million) in "blood money," lawyer Turki al-Rasheed said.
Blood money is compensation for the next of kin under Islamic law. The girl's mother had demanded 10 million riyals.
Ghamdi's second wife, accused of taking part in the crime, was sentenced to 10 months in prison and 150 lashes, said Rasheed, who is the lawyer for the girl's mother.
Ghamdi was convicted of "raping and killing his five-year-old daughter Lama," he added.
The girl was admitted to hospital on December 25, 2011 with multiple injuries, including a crushed skull, broken ribs and left arm, extensive bruising and burns, activists said. She died several months later.
Ghamdi, a regular guest on Muslim television networks despite not being an authorised cleric in Saudi Arabia, had confessed to having used cables and a cane to inflict the injuries, human rights activists said earlier this year.
Randa al-Kaleeb, a social worker from the hospital where Lama was admitted, said the girl's back was broken and that she had been raped "everywhere". Ghamdi had reportedly tortured and raped his daughter after he had doubted her virginity.
Saudi rights activist Aziza al-Yousef said that Ghamdi's sentence was too lenient. "We are extremely disappointed," she said. "He should have been jailed for life or executed to serve as an example."
Yousef was among many rights activists in the kingdom who had been campaigning for a harsher sentence for Ghamdi after reports emerged in January that the court would only give him a short jail term and order him to pay blood money to the mother.
Suad Shemmari, co-founder of the Saudi Liberal Network, criticised the "very light sentence, which probably came because the assailant was bearded."
Another activist, Khuloud al-Fahd, was also shocked by Ghamdi's punishment.
"A few years ago, two burglars stole two sheep and were sentenced to five years in prison and lashes. How can a father who killed his daughter be condemned to such a light sentence?" she asked.


Saudi preacher jailed for 8 years for raping, killing daughter

Fayhan al-Ghamdi

News

World

A Saudi court sentenced a preacher convicted of raping his five-year-old daughter and torturing her to death to eight years in prison and 800 lashes, a lawyer said.


Saudi preacher jailed for 8 years for raping, killing daughter

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A Saudi court sentenced a preacher convicted of raping his five-year-old daughter and torturing her to death to eight years in prison and 800 lashes, a lawyer said.

A Saudi court sentenced a preacher convicted of raping his five-year-old daughter and torturing her to death to eight years in prison and 800 lashes, a lawyer said.