JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has pardoned a gang-rape victim whose sentencing to 200 lashes and half a year in prison caused an international outcry and angered many Saudis.
"Because of the barbaric crime committed against the woman, and because erring in pardon is better than erring in punishment . . . we have decided to pardon her," said a royal decree carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
The woman's husband, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he learned of the pardon from news reports and immediately called his wife. "She was relieved and happy. It has been a nightmare for her," he said. "I am very grateful to the king."
Many Saudis view Abdullah, who took the throne in 2005, as a modernizer who is seeking to reform the judiciary. Saudi Arabia's judges have used their power for decades to enforce what some see as archaic interpretations of Islamic law, but several rulings are now provoking wider public discussion.
Apparently unwilling to openly confront the religious establishment, the king has used pardons to free people in high-profile cases that have drawn scrutiny from human rights groups.
"We're very pleased by the decision that was taken by the king, and we certainly hope it will send a signal to the Saudi judiciary," State Department spokesman Tom Casey said of the pardon.
The woman pardoned by the king, a 20-year-old known in the news media as the Girl of Qatif, after her hometown, was sentenced to a six-month prison term and 200 lashes in September for being alone with a man not related to her.
