American businesswoman imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for going to Starbucks with unrelated male colleague

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

A 37-year-old American businesswoman and married mother of three is seeking justice after she was thrown in jail by Saudi Arabia's religious police for sitting with a male colleague at a Starbucks coffee shop in Riyadh.

Yara, who does not want her last name published for fear of retribution, was bruised and crying when she was freed from a day in prison after she was strip-searched, threatened and forced to sign false confessions by the Kingdom's “Mutaween” police.

...

“If I want to make a difference I have to stick around. If I leave they win. I can't just surrender to the terrorist acts of these people,” said Yara, who moved to Jeddah eight years ago with her husband, a prominent businessman.

Her ordeal began with a routine visit to the new Riyadh offices of her finance company, where she is a managing partner.

The electricity temporarily cut out, so Yara and her colleagues — who are all men — went to a nearby Starbucks to use its wireless internet.

She sat in a curtained booth with her business partner in the café's “family” area, the only seats where men and women are allowed to mix.

For Yara, it was a matter of convenience. But in Saudi Arabia, public contact between unrelated men and women is strictly prohibited.

“Some men came up to us with very long beards and white dresses. They asked ‘Why are you here together?'. I explained about the power being out in our office. They got very angry and told me what I was doing was a great sin,” recalled Yara, who wears an abaya and headscarf, like most Saudi women.

The men were from Saudi Arabia's Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, a police force of several thousand men charged with enforcing dress codes, sex segregation and the observance of prayers.

Yara, whose parents are Jordanian and grew up in Salt Lake City, once believed that life in Saudi Arabia was becoming more liberal. But on Monday the religious police took her mobile phone, pushed her into a cab and drove her to Malaz prison in Riyadh. She was interrogated, strip-searched and forced to sign and fingerprint a series of confessions pleading guilty to her “crime”.

“They took me into a filthy bathroom, full of water and dirt. They made me take off my clothes and squat and they threw my clothes in this slush and made me put them back on,” she said. Eventually she was taken before a judge.

“He said 'You are sinful and you are going to burn in hell'. I told him I was sorry. I was very submissive. I had given up. I felt hopeless,” she said.

Yara's husband, Hatim, used his political contacts in Jeddah to track her whereabouts. He was able to secure her release.

“I was lucky. I met other women in that prison who don't have the connections I did,” she said. Her story has received rare coverage in Saudi Arabia, where the press has been sharply critical of the police.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/worl...icle3321637.ece

[DeadPoolX 9]

Okay, ladies... who's headed there for Spring Break?

[Amby 490]

wow I guess no saudi arabia vacations for me

[SteveLaura 0]

I didn't know they had Starbucks in Saudia Arabia.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

One of my first jobs out of college was working with 2 Saudi brothers (both very cool) at an international investment company with interests in Saudi, Lebanon and Yemen. Doing any kind of business transaction in the region as a woman was, uh, very challenging

[kaydee457 13]

For Yara, it was a matter of convenience. But in Saudi Arabia, public contact between unrelated men and women is strictly prohibited.

I hate to say it but she should have understood the local customs, and if she didn't then she should have gone out of her way to do so.....particularly if you're on business trip....it sounds like she may be assigned to an office there?

Anyway, it's their country and I'm always amazed at how westeners, particularly Americans, are arrogant enough to believe that they have to be treated differently.

Unfortunately, they don't get treated differently as this woman found out!

[mRx 16]

Well at least her punishment wasn't carried out by the Royal Saudi rape-squad.

She should just drop the issue, cuz she's not going to change a thing.

[Alex+R 0]

For Yara, it was a matter of convenience. But in Saudi Arabia, public contact between unrelated men and women is strictly prohibited.

I hate to say it but she should have understood the local customs, and if she didn't then she should have gone out of her way to do so.....particularly if you're on business trip....it sounds like she may be assigned to an office there?

Anyway, it's their country and I'm always amazed at how westeners, particularly Americans, are arrogant enough to believe that they have to be treated differently.

Unfortunately, they don't get treated differently as this woman found out!

As a writer, it frightens me that some people have reading comprehension skills as poor as yours.

[Ban Hammer 13,355]

I didn't know they had Starbucks in Saudia Arabia.

it's right next to beheading plaza.

[SteveLaura 0]

I didn't know they had Starbucks in Saudia Arabia.

it's right next to beheading plaza.

Do they serve coffee at the plaza? I bet they're clustering it, trying to force it out of business.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

For Yara, it was a matter of convenience. But in Saudi Arabia, public contact between unrelated men and women is strictly prohibited.

I hate to say it but she should have understood the local customs, and if she didn't then she should have gone out of her way to do so.....particularly if you're on business trip....it sounds like she may be assigned to an office there?

Anyway, it's their country and I'm always amazed at how westeners, particularly Americans, are arrogant enough to believe that they have to be treated differently.

Unfortunately, they don't get treated differently as this woman found out!

As a writer, it frightens me that some people have reading comprehension skills as poor as yours.

You should cater better to your customers. Learn to draw pictures.

[Alex+R 0]

For Yara, it was a matter of convenience. But in Saudi Arabia, public contact between unrelated men and women is strictly prohibited.

I hate to say it but she should have understood the local customs, and if she didn't then she should have gone out of her way to do so.....particularly if you're on business trip....it sounds like she may be assigned to an office there?

Anyway, it's their country and I'm always amazed at how westeners, particularly Americans, are arrogant enough to believe that they have to be treated differently.

Unfortunately, they don't get treated differently as this woman found out!

As a writer, it frightens me that some people have reading comprehension skills as poor as yours.

You should cater better to your customers. Learn to draw pictures.

I knew it would come to that...

[kaydee457 13]

For Yara, it was a matter of convenience. But in Saudi Arabia, public contact between unrelated men and women is strictly prohibited.

I hate to say it but she should have understood the local customs, and if she didn't then she should have gone out of her way to do so.....particularly if you're on business trip....it sounds like she may be assigned to an office there?

Anyway, it's their country and I'm always amazed at how westeners, particularly Americans, are arrogant enough to believe that they have to be treated differently.

Unfortunately, they don't get treated differently as this woman found out!

As a writer, it frightens me that some people have reading comprehension skills as poor as yours.

LOL. Please elaborate?

She grew up in the USA...Her family is Jordanian...so what? Mine's Italian and I know squat about Italy, or it's laws!

She's a western woman!

She violated shria law and was hauled off to the pokey...

Why would she think she's exempt? Because her parents thought they have become more liberal? Her parents, nor her apparently don't read the newspapers concerning Saudi shria law and those unsuspecting westerners caught up viloating their law! There's lot's of stories, believe me!

When I visit the middle east I'm well aware of the local customs. Even in a very progressive and liberal society such as the UAE, arguably the most liberal and accommodating for hosting westerners, ....Eating, drinking, or smoking during Ramadam can also land you in the pokey regardless of how liberal they are.

Simple mariuana can land you there also with no outside contact until you see a judge. You could be locked away for weeks without a single phone call.....

Welcome to the middle east!!

Edited February 7, 2008 by kaydee457

[DeadPoolX 9]

If I were to commit a crime (or violate some sort of social/ethical norm) in another country, whose laws and values am I held accountable to? The United States or the other country? As an American, I have the right to seek help from the American Embassy, but I am still subject to the country in which I caused the problem.

True, this woman didn't knowingly do anything wrong, but as any police officer or lawyer will tell you: "ignorance of the law is no excuse." If you're visiting another country, then it's expected that you at least attempt to understand and abide the rules governing it while there; this is especially true if you plan on working or living in that country.

I tend to think the punishment here went a little overboard. At worst, she should have been escorted out of the Starbucks she was in and perhaps put under some form of "house arrest." I don't really agree with that either, but it wouldn't be nearly as harsh as imprisonment and still allow her to receive a punishment.

[sarahaziz 0]

The police were right. If you cant abide by the countrys rules and respect of the country dont reside there.