WhatsApp Insult Leads To Saudi Woman Being Divorced And Sentenced To 70 Lashes

70 Lashes And Divorce For Saudi Wife Who Insulted Husband On WhatsApp

An instant messaging App has been cited as the reason for a divorce between a couple in Saudi Arabia.

The man filed to end his marriage after noting his wife had the WhatsApp status message: “I pray to be patient enough to put up with you”, followed by his initials, Daily Sabah writes.

Quoting Arabic daily newspaper Al-Hayat, it adds the couple’s relationship had already been under stress, but that the status was “the last straw”.

Severalmedia reports state the woman was also sentenced to 70 lashes and a fine of 20,000 riyals for “insulting” her husband in this manner.

Article Three of the Saudi Anti-Cyber Crime Law states anyone who defames or inflicts damage upon others through various information technology devices “shall be subject to imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year and a fine not exceeding 500,000 riyals or to either punishment.”

Legal expert Khalid Al-Halibi told Al Arabiya: “Social media is the number one cause of divorce nowadays. Any couple that publicly insults one another is already in a developed stage of conflict.

“What the wife did in this case was simply a mental release and she did not pay much heed to how much she was insulting her husband. The husband should have had a conversation with the wife to understand her motives.”

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