Drug Abuse


Doctor Sentenced to 1,500 Lashes for Addicting Saudi Princess to Painkillers
By JOSEPH MAYTON (Middle East Times)
Published: October 28, 2008

CAIRO -- Egyptian Raouf Amin languishes in a
Saudi jail and is punished with 70 lashes once a
week. Cut off from his family in Egypt, the
52-year-old doctor was convicted for prescribing
painkillers to a Saudi princess that led to her addiction.

An appeal court judge ruled that Amin will be
beaten weekly until he has received 1,500 lashes
- and then he'll spend another 14 years behind bars.

The judge doubled the original punishment meted
out to him a little over one year ago in the
lower court where Amin was sentenced to a seven-year jail term with 750 lashes.

Not surprisingly, human rights groups and the
Egyptian doctor's syndicate are outraged.

The Middle East Times was told by a human rights
lawyer that Amin was given his first 70 lashes
last week and will get 70 more this week.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian Organization for Human
Rights (EOHR) and the foreign ministry are taking
an earnest look into finding a way to have Amin quickly returned to Egypt.

The doctor, who has lived and worked in the Gulf
state for more than 20 years, had been treating
the princess for several months for back pains
after she visited the hospital in which he worked.

Ahmed Amin, the doctor's son, who himself was
born in Saudi Arabia, claims the woman went into
the hospital and specified the medication she wanted.

The woman had been receiving similar treatment in
the United States after she had fallen from a horse while riding.

Hafez Abu Saeda, the director of EOHR concurred
that the medication Amin had prescribed was the
same as the woman had been receiving in the
United States, "so it is obvious that the doctor
was not at fault for her addiction," Abu Saeda concluded.

"It is a harsh sentence that really must be
looked at," he said at his Cairo office, flipping
through reports on Amin's case.

Abu Saeda was astounded that the appeal judge
gave a stiffer penalty than in the original case.
It is tantamount, he said, to penalizing Amin for
asserting his right of appeal.

"When you appeal against a sentencing it is the
rule that it cannot go higher, but in Saudi
Arabia it appears anything is possible."

Abu Saeda said he has been in contact with
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to publicize the jailing.

Also, the Doctor's Syndicate in Cairo has
threatened demonstrations in support of Amin.

On Monday, a small sit-in led by human rights
activists and Amin's son was held in front of the
Saudi Embassy in Cairo, as a means of publicizing the sentence.

Their threats have driven the Egyptian foreign
ministry to seek a solution, partly out of
concern that negative repercussions in Egypt may
damage relations between Cairo and Riyadh.

"We have been in contact with the foreign
ministry, which has asked us for information and
help to end this crisis," Abu Saeda said,
half-laughing at how quickly the government is
willing to call on human rights organizations
when the case is outside Egypt's borders.

"This is strange, because if this had happened in
Egypt they would be against us; but because it
happened in Saudi then it is okay to work with us," he smiled, cynically.

The Egyptian government and human rights groups
have often been at odds over cases in Egypt. And
especially in recent months over alleged police
torture and brutality that rights groups say is
endemic to the country. The state denies these
incidents as mainstream, arguing that they are not the rule.

In advising ministry officials, Abu Saeda said
his organization is trying to push forward points
that are essential to Amin's defense.

First, he said, Amin was not given a fair trial
and this must be stated up front.

And second, the "continuous use of physical
punishment is prohibited under international law
in these situations and must be discontinued."

He believes that with pressure, the Saudi
government will release Amin and let him return
to Egypt, "but pressure must continue. We will
not stop our campaign until he is released."

Both the Egyptian foreign ministry and the Saudi
Embassy in Cairo refused to comment on the case,
saying the matter is still under investigation.

The foreign ministry would only tell the Middle
East Times that they "are working hard to have an
Egyptian citizen returned to Egypt in the face of such harsh conditions."

Amin's family are grateful for any help they can
get and welcome the Egyptian government's actions as a chance to move forward.

"The last time I saw my father was over a year
ago," Hafez, his son said. "We can't visit and we
can't get a visa since his residency was dropped.
We can't even talk to him over the phone; there
is no connection between us right now."

# # # # # # #

Egyptians decry doctor's sentence of 1,500 lashes

By SALAH NASRAWI - 3 days ago

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) ­ Demonstrators in Cairo
demanded Tuesday that Saudi Arabia release an
Egyptian doctor sentenced to 15 years in prison
and 1,500 lashes after he was convicted of
malpractice ­ reportedly after treating a Saudi princess.

His wife said she feared the punishment would kill him.

Raouf Amin el-Arabi, a doctor who has been
serving the Saudi royal family for about 20
years, was convicted last year of giving a
patient the wrong medication. Egyptian newspapers
reported that he was accused of driving a Saudi princess "to addiction."

He initially was sentenced to seven years in
prison and 700 lashes, but when he appealed two
months ago, the judge not only upheld the
conviction, but more than doubled the penalty to
15 years in prison and 1,500 lashes.

Family members, friends and colleagues gathered
at the headquarters of Egypt's doctors' union in
downtown Cairo and urged Saudi King Abdullah to pardon el-Arabi.

"My children want their father to return swiftly
and safely," the doctor's wife Fathiya el-Hindawi
told the Associated Press. "I hope the king will give them back their smiles."

She maintained her 53-year-old husband was
innocent and feared he would die if given the full penalty.

"1,500 lashes is unprecedented in the history of
Islam," read one banners carried by protesters.
"Who is responsible for the humiliation of our doctors abroad?" read another.

The case has drawn nationwide criticism in Egypt
and local human rights groups have demanded that
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who maintains
close ties with the Saudi royal family, intervene to free el-Arabi.

The Saudi government has refrained from comment
but Egyptian newspapers report that el-Arabi was
treating a female member of the royal family when
he was accused of "driving a patient to
addiction." The newspapers identified the
princess as one of the wives of Abdullah's nephews.

Saudi Justice Ministry officials did not answer
the phone on Tuesday to comment on the case.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that
diplomatic and political efforts are under way to
resolve the problem, but warned that relations
between the two countries should not be affected.

"The ministry is very much concerned with this
case," said Ahmed Rizq, a ministry official, in a
statement. "However, the Saudi judicial and
political system should be respected."

Egypt's state-owned Middle East News Agency later
reported that Cairo's ambassador to Riyadh,
Mahmoud Auf, met with the powerful mayor of
Riyadh, Prince Salman, to discuss "the status of
Egyptian expatriates in the kingdom."

El-Arabi is in a jail in the Red Sea port city of
Jeddah and is believed to have received at least
one of his weekly installments of 70 lashes so far.