Outrage as cleric freed after killing daughter, 5

Online activists in Saudi Arabia are calling for harsher punishments for child abuse following reports that a prominent cleric received only a light sentence after confessing to beating to death his 5-year-old daughter.

The social media campaign gaining momentum is the latest attempt to use the internet to pressure the kingdom’s ultraconservative rulers.

Saudi media reports say Fayhan al-Ghamdi, a frequent guest on Islamic TV programmes, was arrested in November on charges of killing the girl. The reports said he questioned the 5-year-old’s virginity.