The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has said that a man sentenced to 10 years in prison and 6,000 lashes for seven counts of theft has the right to appeal the verdict before it is referred to the Court of Cassation for final approval. The 27-year-old man was given the sentence by a Taif court earlier this week after being found guilty of stealing a car, some sheep, bags of barley and copper cables from a truck. The accused described the sentence as “harsh” claiming that his confession was made under duress. The NSHR said it would look at the case if the man or his family registered a complaint with them claiming breaches of regulations by authorities. Hussein Al-Shareef of the NSHR's Makkah branch said the man could appeal at the Court of Cassation if he can substantiate his claims that he confessed under duress. “The NSHR cannot intervene in the case at the moment as we are unaware of the details and have as yet not received a complaint,” Al-Shareef said. The man's brother called on the Court of Cassation to reconsider the case. “My brother made a forced confession after he was detained more than four months ago,” he said. “He was taken to three courts in the north of Taif. He denied committing the thefts and confessed in a court in the Turba district.”
