Saudi Man Released on Blood Money

A “celebrity” Saudi preacher who admitted to using a cane and cables to inflict multiple injuries on his five-year-old daughter—including a crushed skull, broken back, broken ribs, a broken left arm and extensive bruising and burns, in addition to signs that she had been repeatedly raped and burnt—has been released after only a few months in jail and payment of “blood money.” Fayhan al-Ghamadi is accused of raping, torturing and killing his daughter, named Lama, after doubting the five-year-old’s virginity and taking her to a doctor. The judge is reported as saying, “Blood money and the time the defendant had served in prison since Lama’s death suffices as punishment.” Al-Ghamdi is said to have paid around $50,000 to the girl’s mother.