Saudi king dismisses flogging for journalist

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's king waived a flogging sentence against a female journalist accused of involvement in a risque TV show, the second pardoning in such a high-profile case by the monarch in recent years.

King Abdullah's decision to waive the 60-lash sentence imposed by a judge on Rozanna al-Yami, 22, follows intense international media attention.

She was charged with helping to coordinate a talk show on a Lebanese channel featuring a Saudi man describing what appeared to be his active sex life. The country's media policy prohibits the use of sexual content on TV and in newspapers, books, and magazines.

Yami denied involvement in the sex-related episode. Although the charges against her were dropped, she said the judge in Jidda ordered the flogging as a "deterrent."

In November 2007, the king waived a flogging sentence of 90 lashes against a rape victim for being alone in a car with an unrelated man shortly before the two were attacked.

Yesterday, Information Ministry spokesman Abdul-Rahman al-Hazza said the king had waived the sentence and ordered Yami's case and that of another journalist - a pregnant woman also accused of involvement in the program - referred to a ministry committee that deals with media-related violations.

The sex-talk episode aired in July on the LBC satellite channel as part of its program Bold Red Line. In the episode, Mazen Abdul-Jawad, a divorced Saudi father of four, appears to describe an active sex life and shows sex toys that the station blurred.

The government moved swiftly, shutting down LBC's two offices in the kingdom and arresting Abdul-Jawad.

The same judge in Jidda sentenced Abdul-Jawad to five years in jail and 1,000 lashes. His lawyer says his client was duped by the station and was unaware in many cases that he was being recorded.