CAIRO: An Arab woman in Saudi Arabia was reportedly raped in the holy city of Mecca last week as she was heading to the Grand Mosque for prayers, the Sabq newspaper reported, adding that the accused rapist was later arrested by police in the city. According to the report, a man used a knife to force the female dentist, who is not Saudi, into a “dark place” where he forced himself on her. The woman had accepted an offer from the man to give her a lift to the Grand Mosque after telling her he was also going for prayers. “Instead of taking her to the mosque, the man took the dentist to a deserted and dark place, where he raped her at knife point," Sabq newspaper said. With pilgrims beginning to arrive in Saudi for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, the government is bolstering security in the holiest city of Islam. If convicted of rape, the man faces the death penalty.
