Saudi steward jailed 4 years on rape charges

A Saudi court sentenced a steward in the Gulf Kingdom’s national airlines to four years in prison after he was convicted of raping an Australian passenger during flight.

The passenger of Lebanese origin has told court in the central town of Buraidah the crew member followed her to the water closet and raped her inside while on a flight to the Kingdom two years ago.

A court had earlier sentenced the steward, in his 40s, to 10 years in jail but an appeals court reduced the verdict to eight years. Another court cut the sentence to four years this week.

Sabq newspaper quoted defence lawyer Suleiman Al Khareef as saying there was no evidence the defendant raped the woman and passengers who testified in court said they were not aware of any rape on board.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.