Saudi woman jailed for driving

Report from the Emirates news outlet 24/. A link to the story is here,  and pasted below.

Published Monday, April 28, 2014

A Saudi court sentenced a woman to eight months in prison and ordered her lashed 150 times on charges of defying a ban on driving a car and offending police.

The court in the capital Riyadh was told by cops that the woman was caught driving a car in the city and that she assaulted and abused them when they stopped her.

A court of appeals upheld a previous sentence to jail the unnamed woman and have her lashed150 times, 'Sabq' daily said.

Women in Saudi Arabia, one of the most conservative Moslem nations, are not allowed to drive cars but there have been campaigns over the past few years to end the ban.

Qatif woman penalized for driving husband's car

Report from the Saudi English daily the Saudi Gazette on April 19, 2014. A link to the story is here, and the text is pasted below. Almost reads like a promotion for the Honda Accord (still going strong after ten years)!

The 23-year-old Qatif woman gets behind the wheel of her husband’s Honda Accord Thursday evening. — Courtesy photo

 QATIF – The Traffic Department in the Qatif governorate fined a 28-year-old Saudi national SR900 and impounded his vehicle for seven days after he allowed his wife to drive his car, Alsharq daily said Saturday.

Security patrols caught the woman driving along Al-Nassirah Corniche in Al-Shubaili district of Qatif Thursday evening.

Informed sources said the woman, aged 23, was also penalized for driving her husband’s 2004 model Honda Accord.

The couple had to sign an undertaking that they would not repeat the offense before they were released on bail. A traffic violation was registered against the woman for driving without a license.