JEDDAH — A lawyer was sentenced to 30 days in prison and a total of 130 lashes for verbally assaulting his client's opponent in court. A source said a man filed a lawsuit against the lawyer of his rival in another lawsuit for verbal assault and racist remarks. "The court sentenced the lawyer to 30 days in prison and 130 lashes in public. The lawyer filed an appeal against the sentence, which is currently under review," said the source. The source also said the plaintiff accused the defendant of verbally attacking his tribe and the incident was documented in court with the presence of two witnesses. "The defendant replied to the allegations saying the plaintiff can only represent himself and does not have the authority to represent his tribe," said the source. The lawyer claimed the lawsuit against him was to retaliate against him and meant to ruin his reputation. He said he had won the case against the plaintiff. He has no motive to insult the plaintiff in such an unprofessional manner. "The allegations are uncharacteristic of him and his reputation," the lawyer said and demanded that the court drops the case as it was baseless. The lawyer rejected the documentation of the incident in court proceedings and the testimonies of witnesses as unjust and unfair. "The lawyer claimed the court's documentation of an incident cannot be considered legal evidence. Moreover, one of the witnesses is from the same tribe as the plaintiff. Therefore, the witness cannot give unbiased testimony," said the source. He said the proceedings in the case lasted for 15 months and the court made the plaintiff swear that he was verbally assaulted by the lawyer. "The court sentenced the lawyer to a month in prison and a total of 130 lashes based on the plaintiff's swearing. The lawyer was forced to pledge not to offend anyone and to respect the dignity of the court," said the source.
