Saudi gets 5 years in jail for sex talk
RIYADH: A Saudi court yesterday convicted a man for publicly talking about sex after he bragged on a TV talk show about his exploits, sentencing him to five years in jail and 1,000 lashes, his lawyer said.
Talking about sex publicly is a taboo in Saudi Arabia.
Lawyer Sulaiman al-Jumeii said he plans to appeal the court's ruling and is confident the sentence against his client will be revoked.
Al-Jumeii maintains that his client, Mazen Abdul-Jawad, was duped by the Lebanese LBC satellite channel which aired the talk show and was unaware in many cases he was being recorded. "I hope you will not consider the case closed," the lawyer said. "I will continue pursuing the TV channel, even if no one stands by me, until it gets the punishment it deserves."
The program, which aired July 15 on LBC and was seen in Saudi Arabia, scandalized this conservative country where such frank talk is rarely heard in public. Some 200 people filed legal complaints against Abdul Jawad, who works for the national airline.
The program, "Bold Red Line", begins with Abdul-Jawad, dubbed a "sex braggart" by the media, describing the first time he had sex at 14. He then leads viewers into his bedroom, dominated by red accessories, and then shows off blurred sex toys. He is later joined by three male friends for a discussion on what turns them on.
AP
(China Daily 10/08/2009 page9)
