Australian Mansor Almaribe Faces 500 Lashes For Blasphemy
UPDATE 9.53am: THE family of a Victorian man sentenced to 500 lashes in Saudi Arabia has made an emotional plea to bring him home, fearing he will die in jail.
The Shepparton family of Mansor Almaribe, 45, who was also sentenced to a year in jail for blasphemy, will head to Canberra to plead for help.
Isaam Almaribe, 21, said his father suffered from diabetes and had broken bones in his back and knees from a car accident in Australia.
"Dad told us 'Take me out of here as soon as possible because if I stay here I will die' - that's how bad his situation is," Isaam said.
"He couldn't survive 50 lashes let alone 500 lashes."
The family's local member, Murray MP Sharman Stone, said it was time for Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd to intervene.
Dr Stone said she was in talks with Mr Rudd's office, as well as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to negotiate with the Saudi Arabian authorities to have the sentence dropped or reduced.
"I have said to them its time now to have Kevin Rudd hopefully pick up thast phone and talk to who must be spoken to in a diplomatic way in Saudi Arabia," Dr Stone told MTR this morning.
She said the details of his offence were shady.
"Mansor can't speak clearly on the phone to the family, he's had very brief calls and the family suspects they're being monitored because he's being very circumspect," Dr Stone said.
"Apparently he was in Medina with a group of fellow Shiites"¦and he was quoting out of a book which insulted the Prophet Muhammad's companion. This is how it's being described. Apparently this is a deeply offensive thing to do in the Medina apparently for people of Sunni Islamic philosophy or religion.
"He was selected to be kept in a police cell in prison in the 1st instance and then he was charged with this crime"¦of blasphemy."
A spokeswoman for Kevin Rudd, Kate Sieper, said the Government was "very concerned" about Mr Almaribe's wellbeing, and that consular officials were providing support to him and his family.
"The Australian Government has a universal policy of opposing the use of corporal punishment amounting to torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment," Ms Sieper said in a statement.
She said Mr Rudd was in contact with Australian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Neil Hawkins, regarding the case.
"The Ambassador has urgently contacted Saudi authorities and will make strong representations, including to key figures in the Saudi government, seeking leniency. There are formal avenues for doing this under Saudi law," she said.
"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is engaging with the Saudi Arabian Ambassador in Australia."
Mr Almaribe arrived in Australia in 1999 from Iraq as a refugee and brought his family over in 2006.
Isaam said the war in Iraq did not compare with what the family was going through now.
"We had different problems back then but now his life is on the line," he said.
"To be lashed is barbaric and it's really terrifying. Humans shouldn't be treated that way."
Wife Waffa Almaribe has not slept since her husband was detained while making the Hajj pilgrimage to Medina last month.
She collapsed in tears when she heard he would be lashed 500 times and serve a year in jail.
"It's very hard for me and my family and it's so terrible," she said.
"My husband is a peaceful man who looked out for everybody. My children and I need him with us. I am very scared he won't survive."
The family said Mr Almaribe, a Shiite Muslim, was dragged away by religious police while praying in the Sunni-dominated country.
Isaam said his father was not allowed to call home for 13 days and was allowed only a two-minute phone call.
He said Mr Almaribe was not being properly fed in jail, was not allowed to shower for 11 days and was denied legal representation.
A spokeswoman for Mr Rudd said the Federal Government was "very concerned" about Mr Almaribe's wellbeing, and that consular officials were providing support to him and his family.
"The Australian Government has a universal policy of opposing the use of corporal punishment amounting to torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment," spokeswoman Kate Sieper said in a statement.
She said Mr Rudd was in contact with Australian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Neil Hawkins, regarding the case.
"The Ambassador has urgently contacted Saudi authorities and will make strong representations, including to key figures in the Saudi government, seeking leniency. There are formal avenues for doing this under Saudi law.
"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is engaging with the Saudi Arabian Ambassador in Australia," she said.
Australian Mansor Almaribe faces 500 lashes for blasphemy | Herald Sun