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Saudi Gets 27 Years to Life for Enslaving Maid

Sep 1, 2006 1:44 am By Marisol Seibold

Homaidan Al-Turki Update from Arab News:

WASHINGTON, 1 September 2006 – A Saudi man convicted of sexually assaulting an Indonesian housekeeper and keeping her as a virtual slave was sentenced yesterday to 27 years to life in prison in Colorado.

Homaidan Al-Turki, the 37-year-old Saudi national, denied the charges and blamed anti-Muslim prejudice for the case against him. He said prosecutors persuaded the housekeeper to accuse him after they failed to build a case that he was a terrorist.

Al-Turki, who was studying for a doctoral degree at the University of Colorado, was convicted June 30 of unlawful sexual contact by use of force, theft and extortion. All are felonies.

He was also convicted on misdemeanor counts of false imprisonment and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment.

After the judge denied a motion for a new trial yesterday, defense attorney John Richilano said he would appeal the convictions. The lawyer argued that cultural differences were at the heart of the charges.

It must be emphasized that such “cultural differences” are rooted in the Qur’an and thus considered divine fiat for all time:

Also (prohibited are) women already married, except those whom your right hands possess. (4:24)

The Saudi Embassy in Washington would not comment on the case.

“The problem is that in Saudi Arabia, many are going to take Al-Turki’s side, and say he was a good guy, which isn’t true,” said a Saudi businessman working in Washington who is following the case but requested anonymity. “He truly did some awful things.”

Bakr Bagader, member of the Saudi National Human Rights Society (NHRS), said the Saudi government should ensure that the man is indeed guilty. “If the man is given a fair trial and is found guilty of sexual assault, backed up by solid evidence, then no
one should be above the law,” said Bagader.

Prosecutors and FBI agents said Al-Turki and his wife, Sarah Khonaizan, brought the woman to Colorado to care for their five children and to cook and clean for the family. An affidavit said she spent four years with the family in their suburban Colorado home, sleeping on a mattress on the basement floor and getting paid less than $2 a day.

The media have not identified the woman, who is now 24, because she is an alleged victim of rape.

Al-Turki said he treated the woman the same way any observant Muslim family would treat a daughter. “Your honor, I am not here to apologize, for I cannot apologize for things I did not do and for crimes I did not commit,” he told the judge. “The state has criminalized these basic Muslim behaviors. Attacking traditional Muslim behaviors was the focal point of the prosecution.”

[…]

Dozens of members of the Denver area Muslim community, including Al-Turki’s family and the prayer leader of the state’s largest mosque, packed the courtroom. Many had written to the judge expressing support for Al-Turki. Other letters of support came from Al-Turki’s academic colleagues at the University of Colorado.

The NHRS” Bagader said that setting aside the more serious charges related to sexual assault, he felt there were some cultural issues that may indeed be at play on some of the evidence related to illegal imprisonment, such as the allegation
that Al-Turki was holding the maid’s passport.

“The American government and our government should work together to clarify to Saudis heading to the US for vacation or education purposes, who wish to take their housekeepers, what they should do and what they shouldn’t according to US law,” he said.

“What they should do and what they shouldn’t according” to the laws of the US, or anywhere else in the civilized world.

But, he added, the mistreatment of housekeepers is a problem in the Kingdom. “Our society needs to become more aware of housekeepers” human rights,” he said. “We all know there are a lot of cases raised against Saudis for the abuse of housemaids.”

Legal adviser Mohammed Al-Abdali, however, said he felt like the sentence of 27 years to life is a “down point for the American courts that we used to respect and admire.”

“There was no justice in this case according to what we have learned,” said Al-Abdali. “To my knowledge, the evidence against him doesn’t hold up on both verdicts.

They used holding her passport, which most Saudis and GCC citizens do because a lot of housekeepers flee and tend to work for illegitimate networks, as evidence.”

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