year-old Saudi man has been sentenced to eight years' prison and 700 lashes of the whip for blackmailing and threatening women after obtaining their telephone numbers and photographs. The convicted man, who is to appeal the sentence, obtained telephone numbers of various women and “improper” images of them through e-mail after building trusting relationships with them, which then used the materials to demand money and sex, threatening to “ruin their reputations” if they failed to comply. The man was arrested when one of his victims informed the authorities, and officials found incriminating evidence on his mobile telephone and laptop computer. Also found were identity papers belonging to the husband of one of his victims. The sentence includes a SR50,000 fine and the publication of the convicted man's photograph in a local newspaper. The court also ruled that the lashes of the whip be carried out in public with the man's face exposed.
