Couple 'Detained in UAE for Sex Outside Marriage'

BBC: A South African man and his Ukrainian fiancee have been detained in the United Arab Emirates for unlawful sex, a relative says.

Emlyn Culverwell‚ 29, and Iryna Nohai, 27, were reportedly arrested after a doctor discovered Ms Nohai, who had stomach cramps, was pregnant.

They were arrested for sex outside of marriage, which is illegal in the UAE.

Mr Culverwell's mother has pleaded for their release, saying "the only thing they did wrong was fall in love". » | Wednesday, March 8, 2017

WikiLeaks Cables: Saudi Princes Throw Parties Boasting Drink, Drugs and Sex *
THE GUARDIAN: Royals flout puritanical laws to throw parties for young elite while religious police are forced to turn a blind eye

These Saudi students at a prayer event in Riyadh conform to the puritanical image of the country, but worldly pleasures are available behind closed doors to the very rich, WikiLeaks cables show. Photograph: The Guardian
In what may prove a particularly incendiary cable, US diplomats describe a world of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll behind the official pieties of Saudi Arabian royalty.

Jeddah consulate officials described an underground Halloween party, thrown last year by a member of the royal family, which broke all the country's Islamic taboos. Liquor and prostitutes were present in abundance, according to leaked dispatches, behind the heavily-guarded villa gates.

The party was thrown by a wealthy prince from the large Al-Thunayan family. The diplomats said his identity should be kept secret. A US energy drinks company also put up some of the finance.

"Alcohol, though strictly prohibited by Saudi law and custom, was plentiful at the party's well-stocked bar. The hired Filipino bartenders served a cocktail punch using sadiqi, a locally-made moonshine," the cable said. "It was also learned through word-of-mouth that a number of the guests were in fact 'working girls', not uncommon for such parties."

The dispatch from the US partygoers, signed off by the consul in Jeddah, Martin Quinn, added: "Though not witnessed directly at this event, cocaine and hashish use is common in these social circles."

The underground party scene is "thriving and throbbing" in Saudi Arabia thanks to the protection of Saudi royalty, the dispatch said. But it is only available behind closed doors and for the very rich. >>> Heather Brooke | Tuesday, December 07, 2010

*And, of course, we shouldn't forget about their fondness for pretty boys. – © Mark

New Dark Age Alert! Extramarital Sex 'Causes More Earthquakes', Iranian Cleric Claims
THE TELEGRAPH: Women who dress “inappropriately” incite extramarital sex that in turn cause more earthquakes, a senior Iranian hard-line cleric has claimed.

Attractive women who snub traditional Islamic clothing to instead wear fashionable clothes and apply heavy make-up, caused youths in the country to “go astray” and have affairs, Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi said.

The hard-line cleric said as a result the country, bounded by several fault lines, experienced more “calamities” such as earthquakes, the reformist Aftab-e Yazd newspaper reported him saying.

Iran is prone to frequent quakes, many of which have been devastating for the country.

"Many women who dress inappropriately ... cause youths to go astray, taint their chastity and incite extramarital sex in society, which increases earthquakes," he told worshippers at a Tehran prayer service late last week.

"Calamities are the result of people's deeds.

“We have no way but conform to Islam to ward off dangers." >>> Andrew Hough | Monday, April 19, 2010

New Dark Age Alert! Shariah Law – For Extra-marital Sex? Cane Them!
MAIL ONLINE: Three Muslim women who were the first in Malaysia to be caned for having sex outside marraige this morning claimed the punishment was an opportunity for them to repent.

Prison authorities caned the women last week after an Islamic Shariah court issued the penalty.

The caning has outraged rights groups and revived speculation that conservative Islamists, who advocate harsh punishment, are gaining influence in the country.

The three women, aged 17-25, said they turned themselves in after feeling guilty for sleeping with their boyfriends before marriage and getting pregnant.

The 17-year-old told reporters that she surrendered to Islamic authorities after her prematurely born child died.

She is now serving a six-month prison sentence.

'I know I have sinned, and I have to be punished. Strangely however, I felt that the caning was not a form of punishment but was an opportunity for me to repent and return to the right path,' she said.

She has already married her boyfriend, who has also been caned and jailed over the offence.

The other women, who have one young child each, are planning to marry their partners after they are released.

The men were also caned for having sex. 'We deserved our punishment': What three Muslim Malaysian women said after being caned for having sex outside marriage >>> | Saturday, February 20, 2010

Three Malaysian Women Caned for Having Extramarital Sex
TIMES ONLINE: Malaysia has caned three women for having extramarital sex, in a move at odds with the moderate Islamic nation that the Government wants to project to the world.

Announcing the sentence, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein declined to say who was caned, where the whipping took place and on what part of the body.

One woman was released from prison last week after spending a month behind bars.

Malaysia has increasingly applied Sharia, or Islamic law, to its Muslim citizens, who make up 60 percent of the country's 28 million people, raising concerns that a more militant brand of Islam is taking hold in a country that prides itself on its multiracial, multireligious image. >>> Luke Hunt in Kuala Lumpur | Thursday, February 18, 2010

Unmarried Couples Caught in Malaysia Hotel Raids
BBC: Fifty-two unmarried couples could face charges of sexual misconduct and jail terms after being caught in hotel rooms by Malaysia's Islamic morality police.

Scores of officers conducted raids on budget hotels on New Year's Day in the western state of Selangor.

Those detained in the early hours of New Year's Day were mainly students and young factory workers.

The Muslim couples are expected to be charged with the offence of close proximity, or Khalwat. >>> Jennifer Pak, BBC News, Kuala Lumpur | Monday, January 04, 2010

150 Women Face Adultery Flogging on Maldives
THE INDEPENDENT: Almost 150 women living in the Maldives face a public flogging for indulging in extra-marital sex after being convicted by the Muslim country's conservative courts. Around 50 men also face the punishment.

Earlier this month, an 18-year-old woman fainted after she was flogged 100 times having been found guilty of having sex with two different men. The woman, who was pregnant at the time of sentencing, had her punishment deferred until after the birth of her child and the court said the teenager's pregnancy was proof of her guilt. In contrast, the accused men were acquitted, with one of them escaping punishment simply because he denied the charge. >>> Andrew Buncombe, Asia Correspondent | Wednesday, July 22, 2009

British Engineer's Daughter Jailed in United Arab Emirates for Having Sex with Her Boss
Jailed: Roxanne Hillier was arrested in the dive shop where she worked after police broke down the door. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: The daughter of a British engineer has been jailed in the United Arab Emirates after being accused of sleeping with her boss.

Roxanne Hillier is serving a three-month sentence following her arrest at a dive shop where she worked in Sharjah.

The 22-year-old was asleep in a room above the store when police broke down the door and arrested her.

It was claimed she was having an affair with the shop owner, an Emirati, who was downstairs at the time.

Miss Hillier was also accused of being alone in the same room with him.

Although the 22-year-old endured 'humiliating' medical tests to prove no sexual contact had taken place, she was convicted over the alleged affair last week.

The dive shop boss received a six-month sentence even though he also denied the relationship.

Miss Hillier's case is the latest in a string to highlight the United Arab Emirates strict laws on sexual relationships. >>> | Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Extra-marital Sex and Homosexuality: The Archbishop of Wales Questions Sex Rules
“One of the glories of Anglicanism has been about being held together by our beliefs as contained in historic creeds and formulas but not by agreement to particular statements about that faith in each generation. That is the difference between belonging to a Communion rather than a confession.” - Dr Morgan
RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE: The Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, has warned that Anglicans had clamped down on homosexuality but not on heterosexual sex outside marriage.

Dr Barry Morgan said in his report on the global gathering of bishops for the summer’s Lambeth Conference that “most people who come to be married in Anglican churches in Britain live together beforehand,” and added: “The fundamental question in all of this is whether homosexuality is a matter of choice or not because that should make a difference to the way it is regarded.” Archbishop of Wales Questions Sex Rules >>> By Roberto Sanchez Guevara | September 21, 2008

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