Ras has sentenced a judge to 10 months in jail and 120 lashes for writing “false complaints” against Saudi nationals so as to belittle legal personalities. Also, the ruling will not come under the pardon granted to persons currently in prison. The case, reported in Saudi Gazette on Thursday, concerns a Saudi woman convicted by a District Court in Al-Ras of lodging false complaints against government officials and with making visits to government offices over a case against her husband without the company of a legal male guardian. Dr. Omar Al-Khouli, a legal consultant, said the judge was charged with helping to write petitions and as such his detention was not justified. Al-Khouli said the court's decision that the ruling does not come under the pardon decision is impermissible and cannot be decided in advance. For his part, a former judge in the Court of Cassation said that a judge can prevent another judge from looking into his case. This is guaranteed for the defendant by the advocacy and penal procedures regulation which states that litigants have the right to reject a judge if there are reasons, including animosity. “As the charges are based on filing false complaints against a judge in the court, another court should look into the case,” he said. “These judicial guarantees have been made obligatory for the litigants,” he added.
