Saudi princess is jailed

Orlando Sentinel ^ | December 18, 2001 | Doris Bloodsworth

[grimalkin]

A Saudi princess was arrested at a luxury Orlando resort Monday night and charged with beating her servant and pushing the woman down a flight of stairs.

Princess Buniah al-Saud, niece of King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia, was booked into the Orange County Jail on a charge of aggravated battery of her Indonesian maid, Memet Ismiyati.

The princess is being held without bond and was to appear before a judge today. If found guilty of the charge, a second-degree felony, the princess could receive up to 15 years in prison.

The arrest of the princess, who was said by the Saudi Embassy in Washington to have diplomatic immunity, could further strain U.S.-Saudi relations, which have cooled considerably since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The Saudi royal family has been reluctant to act on a U.S. request to freeze funds belonging to terrorist organizations. Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's vast wealth stems from a Saudi construction company started by his father.

But the princess's royal connections did not sway Orange County sheriff's officials.

"When we talked to her [Ismiyati] through an Indonesian interpreter and saw the extent of her injuries, we upgraded the charges to a felony," said Orange County Undersheriff Malone Stewart.

Stewart said he had "triple-checked" with the Immigration and Naturalization Service and been told that the 41-year-old princess had not notified the agency of her plans, leaving her without diplomatic immunity.

"As it stands, there is no diplomatic immunity, regardless of who she is related to," Stewart said. "She did not file her agenda with INS, so since she didn't follow our protocol, we are contacting the State Department."

The princess's problems started Friday afternoon when Ismiyati ran crying from the south Orange County apartment the two women shared. The princess has been living in Orlando while studying English at the University of Central Florida. Neighbors at Towne Place Apartments called 911 for Ismiyati.

Through an interpreter, Ismiyati, 36, told deputies that al-Saud had pushed her into a wall, causing her to strike her head. Ismiyati said she then tumbled down stairs, injuring her right knee.

Ismiyati told investigators that the princess pushed her constantly and threatened to send her back to Saudi Arabia, where she could be jailed. The deputies' report said the maid told them she "couldn't take it anymore."

When deputies went to her apartment Friday afternoon, the princess denied striking or pushing the maid.

Paramedics took Ismiyati to Florida Hospital Kissimmee in Osceola County, where she was treated and released.

Sue Shever, a friend of the princess who went to the jail late Monday, said al-Saud and the maid had been feuding about stolen property. Shever is director of ASPECT International Language Academies at the University of Central Florida.

Stewart said Ismiyati was reluctant to press charges. However, she changed her mind Monday evening when she was interviewed for a second time and investigators saw the full extent of her injuries.

Meanwhile, the princess had checked into the Grand Cypress Resort near Walt Disney World, a favorite hotel of Middle Eastern royalty. She was arrested there Monday night. Stewart said that an internal investigation had also been launched because deputies contacted the Saudi Embassy directly without going through the State Department as dictated by protocol.

Deputies were unable to reach officials at the Indonesian Embassy in Washington.

This is not the first time that a Saudi princess has run into trouble in Orange County regarding the beating of a servant.

In 1995, Princess Maha al-Sudairi, wife of the heir to the throne, pummeled her driver, a man named Hamada whom she suspected of taking $200,000.

When al-Sudairi found out about the missing money, she threw a vase or potted plant at Hamada and then screamed and hit him, investigators said.

Deputies working off-duty at the time watched as the princess removed a sandal and beat Hamada, then punched him. The deputies did not report the battery.

Hamada later confessed to taking the money, and several deputies were disciplined in the incident.

As for the current princess in trouble with the law, Stewart said State Department officials want to talk to her.

"It doesn't matter who she's related to," he said. "This lady is not here lawfully."

[Chemist_Geek]

but have never spent one minute or one dime to explain or demonstrate how we can get there.

At the risk of tooting my own horn, or at least the horn of the company I work for, click here.

[crystalk]

In order to be politically correct and not offend Muslims, we may have to get out Florida's old legal code from before 1865, and ask if a slaveholder could maim or injure his or her property at whim...or what limits if any should be imposed.

Remember that in much or most of the Muslim world slavery is still very much in fashion, and BTW what religion do you think the slave traders were who sold the ancestors of our African-Americans to the sea captains and pirates who brought them over to the New World?

PS I will give you a hint, it was not Jewish or Christian.

[putupon]

Some people don't appreciate good help. Clean their house, and they smack you around, save their sorry butts from being taken over by other countries, and they send their kids over to blow up your buildings and murder your citizens.

[FITZ]

The princess was able to be here illegally and I bet the slave was here illegally too. We don't need these Arabs and their backward ways of slave owning and slave beating and polygamy and all the rest.

[woofer]

Very good, C-Geek. Hope it works out for you and wish you many sucesses.

But can you tell me if the systems your company produces can power a city of say 75,000 population? What's the re-charge time on an exhausted NiMH battery and does it develope 'power level memory' if discharged too much? What would be the cost of attaching the system to a power transmission or distribution grid? Would a thryristor station be necessary for conversion to AC? Could the stored DC power be successfully stepped-up to match the voltage level of the grid. How about synchronization?

Like I said, intentions are fine, but do we want to invest scads of cash in someone's intention.

Still, I commend you and your endeavours.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

The played the audio tapes of the calls between the Sheriff's Dept and deputies. Also the maid calling in and they showed an interview with the Princess on the local news. This doesn't surprise me at all. Saudi royalty tends to think they have Royalty over here. Islam is such a peaceful religion

[BlessedBeGod]

But I thought Islam was supposed to be a peaceful religion.

The Koran must make an exception on how one treats servants.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Saudi Princess Arrested For Beating Servant

Woman Says She Was Pushed Down Flight Of Stairs

Posted: 3:29 p.m. EST December 17, 2001
Updated: 8:03 a.m. EST December 18, 2001

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Police arrested a Saudi princess at a luxury resort and charged her with felony aggravated battery for beating her servant and pushing her down a flight of stairs. .RelatedBox .Header {width: 120px; border : none; color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana; line-height: 13px; font-size: 10px; text-align: center; background: #003366; background-color: #003366;} .RelatedBox .Links {font-size: 10px; line-height: 12px; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; margin: 3px;} .RelatedBox .Links li {font-size: 10px; line-height: 12px; font-family: Verdana;}

	Saudi Princess Arrested

Princess Buniah al-Saud, the niece of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, was being held without bond at the Orange County Jail for beating Memet Ismiyati, her Indonesian maid.

The princess could receive 15 years in prison if convicted of the second-degree felony.

Neighbors called 911 Friday after Ismiyati, 36, ran crying from the apartment she shared with the princess in Orange County. She told deputies al-Saud beat her, hit her head against a wall and pushed her down a flight of stairs, leaving her unable to walk.

She spent Friday night in a local hospital's emergency room after the alleged attack. She claimed that Buniah Al-Saud beat her, hit her head against a wall, and pushed her down a flight of stairs at the Hunter's Creek apartment that they shared for 10 months.

"She started beating me. She punched my head and pushed me down the stairs. She's been beating me for the longest time, and I don't like it," the victim said.

"When we talked to her (Ismiyati) through an Indonesian interpreter and saw the extent of her injuries, we upgraded the charges to a felony,'' said Orange County's Undersheriff Malone Stewart.

Ismiyati was treated and released from a local hospital.

The Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C., said the princess had diplomatic immunity. But the Immigration and Naturalization Service said al-Saud, 41, did not tell them of her travel plans, stripping her of diplomatic immunity.

Stewart said State Department officials want to talk to al-Saud.

"It doesn't matter who she's related to,'' he said. "This lady is not here lawfully.''

Al-Saud was confronted by WKMG Local 6 News reporter Tony Pipitone hours before the arrest and he asked her what happened to Ismiyati. "You can ask her," she replied.

"The princess would yell at me, and say she's 'Al-Saud,' and I was under her feet, that she can do anything to me here. She said, 'I can kill you and nothing would happen to me,'" Memet said.

A sheriff's deputy said it would take a high-level crime, like murder, to even detain someone invoking diplomatic immunity. But for an investigation of a misdemeanor battery case, the individual would not be prosecuted.

This isn't the first time a Saudi Arabian princess was caught in a diplomatic bind in Orange County.

In 1995, another Saudi princess, Princess Maha al-Sudairi, wife of the heir to the throne, was accused of beating a servant in Orange County who stole $200,000 from her. Four off-duty Orange County sheriff's deputies were disciplined for mishandling the incident.

Copyright 2001 by .

[RedBloodedAmerican]

click the picture above to see the video

[Sceaming_Gerbil]

I would guess that her male working at a well to do hotel in San Francisco is a gay male in the typical carefree homosexual sense.

I think the point about her gay friend was that he would have insight into things which the average (non-gay) male would not.

And I think the comment about the arab males being gay would be homosexual in the predatory (won't take no for an answer if you're a male who is young and cute) sense.

The thought that the Saudis, even in America, are above American law because we need them for our oil really bothers me.

The thought that they fund Al Queda, but are not going to be dealt with because we need them for the oil bothers me a lot more.

[steve-b]

What kind of picture is that? There are supposed to be two pictures (front and profile) with one of those numbered boards.

[Redleg Duke]

Jeeze! And I thought Jewish-American Princesses were tempermental!

[RedBloodedAmerican]

LOL. Yep. Click it to launch the newscast

[Colt .45]

Nice to see the royals getting equal treatment with the rest of us poor folks.

[Alouette]

HRH is wearing jeans and a tank top. Where is her burqa? Why are these people allowed to flout our laws while they are in our country, but insist that US service personnel DEFENDING THEIR COUNTRY have to follow their archaic, oppressive dress code?

Deport the b!tch, and give the maid a job at the hotel.

[summer]

Here's the Saudi princess in her passport photo:

[JenOPCer]

I wonder if the Indonesian press will run with this story. Might cool the Islamic ardor of some of the redhots there when they realize their womenfolk are nothing but punching bags and slaves for the guardians of Islam.

And you are assuming they care about women because....?

[DeckTheHallsHolly]

I wonder what she looks like in orange?

[Da_Shrimp]

The Saudis/Moslem 'ladies' are always nasty to their own servants: there have been several cases of this sort of thing in England in recent years.

Asian (in the British sense, ie Indian Subcontinent) domestics prefer to work for English employers, because they treat them like human beings rather than slaves.