Saudis Lobby Chertoff on Behalf of Slave Owner/Rapist

The slave owner/rapist in question is Homaidan Al-Turki. In 2006, he was sentenced to 27 years to life for the rape and illegal imprisonment of his maid whom he brought to this country from Saudi Arabia.

The defense at his trial and the defense this representative of the Saudi government are using is the same. It's all about his religion. One small point. The maid was Muslim also.

Bin-Humaid took up the issue of Al-Turki during a meeting with US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in Riyadh on Wednesday. The talks, according to the Saudi Press Agency, focused on political, economic and educational issues as well as parliamentary relations.

Chertoff said the US judicial system aims to establish justice for all, adding that it would not do any injustice to foreigners. “Both sides have agreed to strengthening their strategic and historic relations.”

Here is story from the Arab News at the time the trial was ongoing.

Al-Turki said he treated the woman the same way any observant Muslim family would treat a daughter. “Your honor, I am not here to apologize, for I cannot apologize for things I did not do and for crimes I did not commit,” he told the judge. “The state has criminalized these basic Muslim behaviors. Attacking traditional Muslim behaviors was the focal point of the prosecution.”