Defending our laws against slavery
Posted by Richard on November 24, 2006
Remember Homaidan Al-Turki, the Saudi slaveholder in Colorado who was convicted this past summer? At the time, I mentioned a source that said he had ties to the Saudi royal family, and that’s apparently true. The Al-Turkis seem to be a prominent family, either related or closely connected to the house of Saud, which was quite angry about Al-Turki’s conviction and sentencing. In fact, they apparently demanded an explanation. And, naturally, the State Department did what it could to accommodate our good friends, the Saudis.
The State Department pressured Colorado’s Attorney General, John Suthers, into going to Saudi Arabia, and they paid for the trip. He was summoned before King Abdullah, Crown Prince Sultan, and members of the Al-Turki family. He had to defend our legal system, our quaint prohibition against treating women as domestic animals and sex slaves, and our "harsh" sentencing.
That’s rich — Saudis accusing us of punishing someone too harshly.
Suthers recently returned from Riyadh, and had enough sense to insist he stood his ground and didn’t pander or grovel:
"I was not there to be apologetic about anything that’s transpired, but I was there to talk about some of the cultural differences. It’s ultimately the cultural differences that lead to the concerns the Saudis have about the case," said Suthers.
…According to Suthers he does not think any minds were changed, but says his mission, answering all questions about the case, was accomplished.
My guess is that State Department personnel did the pandering and groveling for him.
Your tax dollars at work, folks. Trying to soothe the ruffled feathers of 7th-century barbarians. I’m appalled.
Sunshine said
slavery is wrong and should be stopped.
Anonymous said
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Thanks, Sunshine!