InfoUpdate
An Information Service supplied by the KwaZulu-Natal Law Society

30 October 2009

This professional service draws attention to current and important items of news
 and members are directed to the hosts' websites

InfoUpdate 23 of 2009
Useful Links
and Items of Interest 

Electronic copies of this information may be obtained from our librarians at help@lawlibrary.co.za or click on the underlined hyperlink where relevant

Middle East

Iran

Iran lawyer in 'blood money' plea - 22 October
An Iranian lawyer has appealed for money to spare the lives of four of his clients, who face execution for murders committed when they were aged under 18. Under Iranian law, a family can pardon a relative's murderer, and compensation - called blood money - is often paid. Mohammad Mostafaie said he needed to raise $200 000 (£120 700) to pay the families of his clients' victims. Amnesty International says Iran has executed at least 42 juvenile offenders since 1990, flouting international law. - BBC News website

Saudi Arabia

Saudi female TV journalist gets 60 lashes - 24 October
A Saudi court sentenced a female journalist to 60 lashes in a case brought after a Lebanese television channel she worked for aired the sex confession of a Saudi man, the reporter and a lawyer said. Rosana, 22, who did not want her full name disclosed, said a court in Jeddah convicted her on Saturday on grounds that the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC) she worked for did not have proper authorization to operate in the Islamic kingdom. "I had nothing to do with Mazen Abdul-Jawad's show. The verdict was just because I cooperated with LBC", the female journalist told Reuters. "This is the first case in which a journalist was tried at a court of summary jurisdiction for an offence relating to the nature of his or her profession," said Sulaiman al-Jumaie, a lawyer who defended Abdul-Jawad. - Reuters website

Saudi sex TV producer spared lash - 26 October
The Saudi king has waived a sentence of flogging on a female journalist working for a TV channel which aired graphic accounts of sex in the kingdom. King Abdullah cancelled the sentence of 60 lashes against Rozanna al-Yami, after being briefed on the case. No reason has been given for the king's decision. It is the second time he has intervened in a high-profile flogging sentence in two years. - BBC News website

InfoUpdate : an Information Service supplied by the KwaZulu-Natal Law Society