The Court of Cassation has upheld the verdict given in the first Internet crime brought to court in the Kingdom. The case concerns a youth who hacked into a girl's e-mail and stole private pictures to blackmail her, threatening to publish the pictures if she did not fulfill his demands. He was sentenced to 200 lashes and 21 months jail, plus a fine of SR50,000. Abdullatif Mohammad Al-Khateeb of the District Court in Al-Ahsa which handed down the sentence, said: “It's unfortunate to see such cases in our society. We actually hear many similar ones in the court. This sentence will open the way for other similar sentences because previously judges were conservatives when dealing with these kinds of cases. With this sentence, their reservation may be broken.”
