Saudi court awards five year jail term to Indian doctor for harrassing woman

The Indian, hailing from Karnataka and working as pathologist in Jizan province, was convicted for harassing a young Saudi woman who was doing internship under him.

Jeddah: An Indian doctor was sentenced to five years imprisonment and a penalty amount of 1.5 lakh Riyals equivalent to approximately Rs. 33.4 lakh by ba Saudi Arabian court for harassing a woman. The Indian, hailing from Karnataka and working as pathologist in Jizan province, was convicted for harassing a young Saudi woman who was doing internship under him.

Following a complaint from the woman, public prosecution referred the case to criminal court which awarded him the sentence, according to sources.

---

The incident occurred when the doctor was showing a sample on a microscope while the lady’s hand was touched. However, according to his family that approached Indian authorities, he had accidentally and unintentionally touched the hand while moving the computer mouse when explaining the method to the woman. The family believes that it was a case of a misunderstanding. The 57-year-old had worked earlier in Saudi Arabia and also in the United Arab Emirates.

The family is desperately running for help back home in India and seeking help to seek legal remedial measures. The Saudi authorities are determined to protect the society from any behavior that contradicts public morality, saying that anyone who is involved in harassment will face strict criminal accountability. The provisions of the Anti-Harassment Law stipulates that they will be applied in the event of any crime of harassment in terms of any utterance, act or gesture of a sexual nature made by a person that impinges on another person’s body, honour or modesty by any means, including modern technologies.