On 15 November, a court in eastern Saudi Arabia reviewed the sentences passed against a 19-year-old woman, known only as “The Girl from al-Qatif”, and her male companion following the rejection of the verdict by the woman and her lawyer. The woman and her male companion had been convicted in 2006 of being alone in private with a member of the opposite sex who was not an immediate family member, under an offence known as Khilwa in Shariah law. Their original sentence of 90 lashes was increased to 200 lashes and a 6 month prison term.
