judge panel at the General Court in Makkah sentenced Wednesday a young man to 15 years in prison and 40,000 lashes for luring a girl to a suburb of Makkah and having an illicit relationship with her that resulted in accidental death. The girl had escaped from him onto the road in the suburb, where she was run over and killed by an oncoming truck The panel had been looking into the case for two years. The girl was a non-Saudi. Authorities tracked down the accused and handed him over to Makkah police who in turn referred him to the Commission for Investigation and Prosecution in Makkah. The CIP found him guilty of engaging in an illicit relationship and asked the court to impose the death penalty. The accused has said he will appeal the verdict at the Court of Cassation in Makkah.
