Sharief, the woman held in a Dammam prison after being arrested Saturday for driving in Al-Khobar, will be held in detention for at least 10 more days, her lawyer told The Associated Press Thursday. Sources had previously suggested that Al-Sharief, who was arrested in the early hours of Sunday, might be released from Dammam's Women's Prison Thursday, but her lawyer Waleed Abu Al-Khair told the news agency that the prosecutor general had extended her detention “another ten days while she is investigated”. “This is a message that any woman who dares to drive her car will face the same destiny,” Abu Al-Khair said. Manal Al-Sharief's father, meanwhile, said he met with the Emir of the Eastern Province and signed a pledge that the incident would not be repeated. Masoud Bin Abid Al-Sharief told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that he met with Prince Muhammad Bin Fahd on Wednesday. “We are in the country of the Two Holy Mosques and it has its own special nature,” Al-Sharief said. “Our leadership has no parallel. It is always concerned for us and the interests of the nation's sons and daughters whatever the circumstances, and all laws and regulations must be abided by.” He said he was “distressed” over what had happened to his daughter Manal and that she regretted what she had done and recognized her mistake. He also said Manal's mother was extremely upset and is “hoping the leadership forgives her daughter and pardons her error”. Al-Sharief added that he had not been able to muster the courage to visit his daughter in Dammam's Women's Prison. “As her father, my heart can't bear to see her behind bars,” he said. Saudi Gazette reported Thursday that the regional chairman of the Emirate's Family Solidarity Committee did visit Al-Sharief in prison, however. Ghazi Al-Shammari quoted Al-Sharief as saying she “made a mistake”. “I'm a daughter of this nation. I have nobody but my family and the sons and daughters of my nation. I advise girls of my generation to rally behind our leadership and Ulema,” she reportedly said. “They know better than us about our condition. I'm sure of what I'm saying having sat alone and thought about things.” In Madina meanwhile, Prince Ahmad Bin Abdul Aziz Aal Saud, Deputy Minister of Interior Affairs, responded to a question from the press concerning women driving by saying that a “statement has already been issued in the year 1411 (1991/92)”. Speaking following the award ceremony of the Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz International Contest for the Prophet's Sunnah and Contemporary Islamic Studies Wednesday, Prince Ahmad said that the 1411 statement was still in force. “The Ministry of Interior is still implementing it,” Prince Ahmad said. “It is not up to us to say whether it is right or wrong, we only implement the regulations.”
