Commenting on reports published in the national and international media about the sentence of paralysis passed by a court in Saudi Arabia, whereby the accused would have his spinal cord surgically severed because he had caused the paralysis of a fellow citizen during a fight, The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia draws attention to the Ministry of Justice's statement that these reports are completely false and that at no time did the judge consider such a sentence.
The Embassy is disturbed that no attempt was made by any organization to check with the Embassy in The Hague the veracity of the original story before publishing. It is regrettable that organizations, both governmental and non-governmental, whose stated aim is to uphold and defend human rights and issue factual statements should condemn the Kingdom so forcefully without first authenticating the facts of the matter. The Embassy urges that in the future facts should be thoroughly checked before publication.
Inaccurate reporting leads to misunderstanding and confusion but it is particularly unfortunate that the statements emanating from official sources were so grotesquely misrepresented.
