Saudi man jailed for 19 months for setting his wife alight

A Saudi man who chained his wife and tried to burn her alive was sentenced for only 19 months, the newspaper Okaz reported yesterday.

The 40-year-old who has not been named, poured gasoline over his wife in their bedroom in Riyadh following a disagreement, before telling his friend to “go get me a lighter and some water as I’m thirsty”.

“The authorities at the time dealt with the matter, and the Sharia Court handed him a sentence of one year and seven months and to be flogged,” the woman who was given the pseudonym Hajar Al-Harbi by the paper told Okaz.

Following the attack, Al-Harbi said her husband called his father and told him what he had done.

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She said the judge did not take the substantial burns she suffered into consideration when handing down his sentence.

“I don’t know … why I was given no damages despite forensic reports establishing I sustained significant burns and why his friend was not prosecuted,” she said.

Al-Harbi explained that she has already undergone 300,000 riyals ($80,000) worth of cosmetic surgery and still needs more treatment as a result of the horrific attack.

“Who will bear the costs of my treatment now, which may go on for years?”