Uproar over 40 lashes for widow, aged 75

THE sentencing of a 75-year-old widow to 40 lashes and four months in prison for mingling with two young men has sparked new criticism of Saudi Arabia’s ultra-conservative religious police and judiciary.

Khamisa Sawadi, who is Syrian but was married to a Saudi, was convicted and sentenced last week for meeting with men who were not her immediate relatives.

The two men, including one who was Sawadi’s late husband’s nephew, were reportedly bringing her bread. They were also found guilty and sentenced to prison terms and lashes.