BBC News,
Sebastian Usher, 7 October 2013
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| Fayhan al-Ghamdi appeared on religious satellite TV channels as a preacher |
Related
Stories
A Saudi
preacher accused of torturing his five-year-old daughter and beating her to
death has been sentenced to eight years in prison and 600 lashes.
The case of
Fayhan al-Ghamdi made headlines around the world earlier this year when it was
suggested that a Saudi court might let him walk free.
Activists
began a campaign named after his daughter, "I am Lama", to press the
authorities to prevent that happening.
Al-Ghamdi
is not recognised as a cleric by the Saudi religious establishment.
Child abuse
helpline
The
horrific details of the abuse that Lama al-Ghamdi suffered were revealed in
medical records from the hospital where she was treated for 10 months before
she died.
Her ribs
were broken, a fingernail was torn off and her skull crushed. She had been
beaten with a cane and electric cables. She had also suffered burns.
The abuse
had happened while she was with her father, who was separated from her mother.
 |
| Lama's death triggered a Saudi Twitter campaign to criminalise violence against women and children |
It was
reported that al-Ghamdi had suspected his daughter of losing her virginity and
had beaten her and molested her in response.
It was even
suggested that he had raped her himself, although this was denied by Lama's
mother.
The outrage
over the case intensified earlier this year when activists suggested that he
might walk free, despite having confessed to having beaten Lama.
The judge
in the case suggested that one reading of Islamic law meant a father could not
be held fully accountable for the death of his children.
Activists
warned that it looked like he might be released if the mother accepted blood
money.
The story
grabbed headlines across the world.
It shone a
light on child abuse in Saudi Arabia where rights activists say strict codes of
family privacy and a patriarchal tradition make it a serious problem.
The Saudi
authorities set up a child abuse helpline in response.
Now, a
verdict has been reached in the same court and with the same judge.
One of the
activists involved in the campaign, Aziz al-Yousef, told the BBC that she was
disappointed that Fayhan al-Ghamdi did not receive a life sentence.
But Lama's
mother had in the end accepted the offer of blood money, despite having once
said she would never take it.
She said
she needed it to help support her surviving children. That ruled out a life
sentence.
Another
campaigner who fought for a longer sentence, Manal al-Sharif, told the BBC that
she did not believe the penalty was enough.
But she
does feel that the I am Lama campaign - with the international pressure it
brought to bear on the authorities - was instrumental in leading to the recent
introduction of an unprecedented new Saudi law against domestic violence.
However,
she added that she still has deep reservations over how effectively this will
be enforced in practice.
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