Posted on 03/27/2008 7:35:03 PM PDT by Alouette
RIYADH, 28 March 2008 — Shoura Council Chairman Dr. Saleh Bin-Humaid has urged US authorities to review the case of Homaidan Al-Turki, a 37-year-old Saudi student who was found guilty in a Colorado state court of 12 counts of sexually assaulting his Indonesian maid.
“The Saudi people sympathize with Homaidan Al-Turki and they closely follow up his case,” the Shoura chief said and hoped for a speedy end to the issue. He also emphasized the Kingdom’s respect for American justice.
Al-Turki, a former Ph.D. student at the University of Colorado, maintains that he did not sexually assault the woman, whose identity has not been disclosed due to the nature of the alleged crime, and has accused US officials of persecuting him for “traditional Muslim behavior.”
Bin-Humaid took up the issue of Al-Turki during a meeting with US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in Riyadh on Wednesday. The talks, according to the Saudi Press Agency, focused on political, economic and educational issues as well as parliamentary relations.
Chertoff said the US judicial system aims to establish justice for all, adding that it would not do any injustice to foreigners. “Both sides have agreed to strengthening their strategic and historic relations.”
Al-Turki, who had been a graduate student in Colorado for nine years, was sentenced in August 2006 to 20 years for the rape charges and eight years for theft of the maid’s wages. The federal charges of not renewing the maid’s work visa, falsely imprisoning the woman and holding the woman’s passport to ensure she didn’t flee were dropped after federal prosecutors decided the 28-year-sentence by the state court was sufficient. Al-Turki is appealing the verdict.
Al-Turki’s wife Sarah Al-Khonaizan returned to the Kingdom in September 2006 after serving two months in prison related to labor violations: Paying the maid less than $2 a day for more than four years, and withholding this wage, too. Al-Khonaizan claims the maid willingly wanted her employers to hold her salary, a claim denied by the plaintiff.
Hamad Al-Khonaizan, Sarah’s brother, blamed anti-Muslim sentiment for Al-Turki’s prosecution, saying that a key factor for his imprisonment was that he was preaching Islam.
“Homaidan had trust in the American justice system and on the democratic nature of the country,” Hamad said in a statement. “The country that he studied in and where he excelled in school was not fair toward him. They searched for a means to bring him down and tried many ways until they found the weapon that they could use against him, which was the Indonesian maid.”
I want to throw up.
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
A graduate student for nine years?
Obviously not the sharpest crayon in the box.
Tough. Traditional saudi behaviour is traditional American crime, buddy.
“The Saudi people sympathize with Homaidan Al-Turki and they closely follow up his case,”
That says more than I want to know about the Saudi people. I was hoping it was just the government, and the perpetrators of 911 and on and on and so forth.
He must have been taking classes from Ward Churchill.
Sharia. Coming to a high school near you.
According to Al Turki, physical and sexual battery constitute “traditional Muslim behavior.” Based on what I know of Islam, I agree.
“Al-Turki, who had been a graduate student in Colorado for nine years”
What the heck was he studying?
Ah, but not legal behavior in the US.
It is a traditional behavior.
A tradition of rich Saudis abusing Indonesian servants.
It’s not the first time its happened in the US. Remember the princess in Floriduh?
LOL, you’re right.
Seriously, how can one be a graduate student for nine years?
The school must have been milking him for his tuition money or they were afraid to wash him out.
He was probably majoring in Anger Studies.
On the other hand this is a pretty typical case. Your typical South Asian slaver hires on a maid, then takes away her passport, rapes her regularly, and doesn't pay her. This can frequently lead to the maid's death.
Saudi has a huge class of people who continue to resist the abolition of slavery.
They think we are so weird and backward for our misguided attitudes.
Geesh, I'm past the point of no return. I can't stand any of these A-holes, and I never will.
How to fly airplanes but not the landing stuff.
Ask the imam, are worms halal or haram? He just opened up a can full.
He can always appeal to the District Shari’a Court in Boulder. Oh, there isn’t one? Huh. Funny how these things just work themselves out.
Let me go that sort of thing one better. I attended college at the same time as a Saudi I got to know quite well. He'd brought one of the family slaves with him. He was also attending classes.
Got to know him quite well too.
Neither man intended to return to Saudi.
Years later I discovered that my secretary belonged to a women's society in the Washington DC area that is dedicated to finding and rescuing Filipino and Indonesian women held captive as slaves by Arabs and other South Asian employers.
Yes, I do know a modern day Abolitionist who frees slaves. Put me in awe of the woman.
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