An Australian man arrested in Saudi Arabia last month while performing the Islamic pilgrimage, or Hajj, is to be lashed 500 times for alleged “blasphemy.” Mansour Almaribe was on Tuesday found guilty of blasphemy in a Saudi court, but according to The Australian, his family fears that the 45-year-old will not survive the lashes and a subsequent one-year in prison. Almaribe is a father of five and was charged with insulting companions of the Prophet Mohamed. According to eyewitness accounts, the Australian was arrested while he was praying in a group. Australia's department of foreign affairs said the Australian ambassador in the ultra-conservative Gulf kingdom, Neil Hawkins, was discussing the situation with local authorities and was urging the Saudi government to release Almaribe. “The Australian ambassador has been in touch with Saudi authorities after a 45-year-old Australian man was sentenced by a court in Saudi Arabia to one-year in jail and 500 lashes,” a department spokeswoman was quoted by The Australian as saying. According to ABC News, Almaribe has serious health problems and his son, Mohamed, said that he doubts his father would survie the lashing sentence. “500 slashes on his back and he has back problems. I wouldn't think he'd survive 50,” the son told ABC News. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/TWkWw Tags: Blasphemy, Hajj, Lashing, Mansour Almaribe Section: Latest News, Religion, Saudi Arabia
