An abomination called the Government of Saudi Arabia .

In our World, where rational thinking, wisdom, and compassion is supposed to play a role in the decisions governments make that affects the lives of individuals, we have in the Saudi Government, which is run by degenerates who call themselves Kings and Princes, the most primitive and immoral group of men. I have hereunder reposted three articles dealing with real life cases of human suffering representative of the thousands of cases that reflect the brutality of Saudi official policy, which is truly revolting to any decent human being. I do not see any rational in attacking Saddam in Iraq or the Taliban in Afghanistan when the worst gangs of degenerate, depraved, and violent men, who keep committing the worst crimes mankind had ever confronted in its thousands of years of civilization, are to be found in Saudi Arabia, still fully engaged in their blood curdling crimes against women, immigrant workers, and the conscience of the World in general. I urge the West and all decent Governments to dissolve this abomination and wipe it out from the face of the Earth. TH.

Saudi religious police under scrutiny

Rough methods criticized; rights group calls for rules to regulate force

updated 3:46 p.m. ET, Mon., March. 23, 2009

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Visitors to a women's job training center heard terrified screams � and rushed to see an agent of the religious police dragging a woman by her hair down the stairs of the building.

The woman had apparently run for shelter in the center after the religious police caught her alone in a car with a man she is not related to � a violation of Saudi Arabia 's strict gender segregation, one of the visitors, Nasreen Qattan, told the Associated Press.

Under that same segregation, the male agent should not have entered the all-women center � yet he still barged in and grabbed the woman.

The incident a week ago in the holy city of Mecca is the sort of heavy-handed behavior by the kingdom's Islamic religious police that many Saudis hoped would end after King Abdullah in February appointed a new chief of the force, billed as a reformer. But so far, there's been little sign of change, and complaints against the religious police continue. On Monday, the Saudi National Society for Human Rights, an independent group, issued a report with stinging criticism of the force, accusing it of infringing on civil rights and calling for rules to regulate the religious police.

People detained by the religious police have been "interrogated and sometimes assaulted and made to confess under duress to acts they did not commit," the report said, adding that in some cases this has led to deaths in custody. "In commenting on the incidents, the commission leans toward denying them, belittling their importance or saying they are individual acts," said the report.

Force has nearly free rein
Currently the police, run by the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, has nearly free rein to enforce kingdom's strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islamic law. The policemen patrol public places to ensure women are covered and not wearing make up, the sexes don't mingle, shops close five times a day for Muslim prayers and men go to the mosque and worship.

The religious police have long been above criticism. Two years ago, members of the force were charged with causing the deaths of two men and were put on trial � the first ever such prosecution. But eventually Saudi courts dropped charges against the men.

Since then, Saudis have become increasingly vocal in their complaints. Many say they are not opposed to the commission itself but to what they see as the agents' rough methods and their meddling in private lives, such as stopping people to check their cell phones for calls to women or scolding women whose abayas � the black cloaks all women have to wear in public � have embroidery.

New tone promised
The newly appointed commission head, Abdul-Aziz bin Humain, has promised a new tone. Last month, he said the commission will follow the principle of maintaining good faith in people, since "a person is innocent until proved guilty," the Saudi Gazette newspaper reported.But so far he has not announced any concrete steps to reform the force, and little change has been seen on the streets.

One Riyadh resident, Mohammed al-Kahtani, told AP he has filed a complaint against the commission after he was beaten up by religious police as he dropped off his wife at a mall a week ago. The agents accused him of being with a woman who was not his wife, dragged him into the street and hit him on the face and back, al-Kahtani said.

Earlier this month, prominent Saudi author Abdullah al-Thabet and two other writers were detained at a commission post at Riyadh 's book fair because he thanked a female writer who had given him a signed copy of her book. The religious police agents accused him of committing the sin of addressing an unrelated woman.

Mind-set that rejects change
The commission did not respond to questions faxed to its headquarters in Riyadh about any of the cases. The recent incidents reflect "a whole mind-set that still rejects change and refuses to submit to the kingdom's sincere desire for change that would benefit the people and the state," al-Thabet said. He said he remains optimistic about the new commission chief but cannot understand his silence over the recent events.The female author who signed the book, Haleema Muthaffar, said she too has hope in bin Humain. "Reform will take time," she said.

In the past five years, commission agents have received training in how to be more courteous in their job, including a workshop recently on how to deal with diplomats.

But such workshops are "not enough without changing the commission's laws, which give it wide powers," the National Society for Human Rights said in its report Monday, calling for the "powers and authority of the commission members" to be precisely defined.

People detained by the religious police have been "interrogated and sometimes assaulted and made to confess under duress to acts they did not commit," the report said. "In commenting on the incidents, the commission leans toward denying them, belittling their importance or saying they are individual acts."

Rights ignored
The main issue for many Saudis is that agents in the field seem to take matters in their hands without any thought to laws or people's rights. The seizure of the woman at the Mecca training center raised a storm in Saudi newspapers � as much over the agent's entry into the all-female center as over his treatment of the woman.

Afterwards, when Qattan's husband came to pick her up from the center, she told him what happened. Abid got out of the car to talk to the agent who Qattan pointed out as the one who stormed the place. "I just wanted to advise him that it is not acceptable for a man to go into a place where our women are present," said Abid, 47.

In a statement, the commission accused Abid of interfering with its work and said it will issue a report on the "facts" of the incident. In the meantime, Qattan, 38, and her husband filed complaints against the commission.

Saudis order 40 lashes for elderly woman for mingling

(CNN) -- A Saudi Arabian court has sentenced a 75-year-old Syrian woman to 40 lashes, four months imprisonment and deportation from the kingdom for having two unrelated men in her house, according to local media reports.

According to the Saudi daily newspaper Al-Watan, troubles for the woman, Khamisa Mohammed Sawadi, began last year when a member of the religious police entered her house in the city of Al-Chamli and found her with two unrelated men, "Fahd" and "Hadian."

Fahd told the policeman he had the right to be there, because Sawadi had breast-fed him as a baby and was therefore considered to be a son to her in Islam, according to Al-Watan. Fahd, 24, added that his friend Hadian was escorting him as he delivered bread for the elderly woman. The policeman then arrested both men.

Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam called Wahhabism and punishes unrelated men and women who are caught mingling.The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, feared by many Saudis, is made up of several thousand religious policemen charged with duties such as enforcing dress codes, prayer times and segregation of the sexes. Under Saudi law, women face many restrictions, including a strict dress code and a ban on driving. Women also need to have a man's permission to travel.

Al Watan obtained the court's verdict and reported it was partly based on the testimony of the religious police. In his ruling, the judge said it was proved that Fahd is not Sawadi's son through breastfeeding.

The court also doled out punishment to the two men. Fahd was sentenced to four months in prison and 40 lashes; Hadian was sentenced to six months in prison and 60 lashes. In a phone call with Al Watan, the judge declined to comment and suggested the newspaper review the case with the Ministry of Justice. Sawadi told the newspaper that she will appeal, adding that Fahd is indeed her son through breastfeeding.

A top Saudi human rights lawyer, Abdulrahman Al-Lahem, volunteered to defend the woman and the two men and has been given power of attorney by them. He told CNN he plans to file an appeal in the case next week.

Efforts to reach Saudi officials at the Justice Ministry, religious police and other agencies were unsuccessful. A spokesman for the Saudi embassy in Washington said he had no details on the case.

The case sparked anger in Saudi Arabia . "It's made everybody angry because this is like a grandmother," Saudi women's rights activist Wajeha Al-Huwaider told CNN. "Forty lashes -- how can she handle that pain? You cannot justify it."

This is not the first Saudi court case to cause controversy. In 2007, a 19-year-old gang-rape victim in the Saudi city of Qatif was sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison for meeting with an unrelated male. The seven rapists, who abducted the woman and man, received sentences ranging from 10 months to five years in prison.The case sparked international outrage and Saudi King Abdullah subsequently pardoned the "Qatif Girl" and the unrelated male.

Al-Lahem, who has taken on many high-profile cases in recent years, represented the girl and received an award from Human Rights Watch last year. However, a travel ban issued by Saudi authorities kept him from traveling to London , England , to receive it.

Many Saudis hope the Ministry of Justice will be reformed. Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz announced in February a major Cabinet reshuffling in which many hard-line conservatives, including the head of the commission, were dismissed and replaced with younger, more moderate members.

The new appointments represented the largest shakeup since King Abdullah took power in 2005 and were welcomed in Saudi Arabia as progressive moves on the part of the king, whom many see as a reformer. Among ministers who've been replaced is the minister of justice.

The actions of the religious police have come under increased scrutiny in Saudi Arabia recently, as more and more Saudis urge that the commission's powers be limited. Last week, the religious police detained two male novelists for questioning after they tried to get the autograph of a female writer, Halima Muzfar, at a book fair in Riyadh, the capital of the kingdom.

"This is the problem with the religious police," added Al-Huwaider, "watching people and thinking they're bad all the time. It has nothing to do with religion. It's all about control. And the more you spread fear among people, the more you control them. It's giving a bad reputation to the country