A Saudi woman sentenced to 200 lashes after she was gang-raped has been pardoned by the country’s leader, King Abdullah.

The woman, known only as Qatif Girl after the area where the crime occurred, had also been sentenced to six months in prison as punishment for being alone in a car with a man who was not a relative.

However Saudi Arabia's al-Jazira newspaper reported today that King Abdullah had pardoned the woman, who was 18 at the time of the attack last year.

Saudi Justice Minister, Abdullah bin Muhammed, told the newspaper that the pardon did not mean the king doubted the country's judges, but instead acted in the "interests of the people."

"The king always looks into alleviating the suffering of the citizens when he becomes sure that these verdicts will leave psychological effects on the convicted people, though he is convinced and sure that the verdicts were fair," he said.

There was an international outcry when a Saudi court handed down the flogging sentence last month.

Her offence was in meeting a former boyfriend, whom she had asked to return pictures he had of her because she was about to marry another man, in 2006.

The couple was sitting in a car when a group of seven Sunni men kidnapped them and raped them both, lawyers in the case told Arab News.

The former boyfriend was also sentenced to 90 lashes for being with her in private.

The woman was originally sentenced to 90 lashes and a prison-term of several months, which was increased to 200 lashes and six months in jail after she spoke out publicly about her case.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) last month called on King Abdullah to "immediately void the verdict and drop all charges against the rape victim".

But the country's Ministry of Justice had defended the woman's punishment, declaring her to be an adulteress who "provoked the attack" because she was "indecently dressed".

The attackers received sentences ranging from two to nine years after being convicted of kidnapping, apparently because prosecutors could not prove rape, according to HRW which reported that the judges ignored evidence from a mobile phone video taken by the men during the assault.
Saudi Arabia's king pardons gang-rape victim - Telegraph