A Filipino woman in Saudi Arabia is scheduled to be lashed 100 times by the government as punishment for being raped. To add to the tragedy, the Filipino has been held in prison since September 2009. In December 2009, the woman — known only as “Camille” — miscarried. Now, she is facing a medieval crime — all because she was raped.

The story is astounding. Camille (of course, not here real name), 35-years-old, travelled to Saudi Arabia in spring of 2009 to work as a janitor in order to support three children aged 15, 14 and 5. She was raped by a Bangladeshi coworker in August. In Saudi Arabia, all sex outside of marriage — including rape and sexual assault — can result in prison and lashings under their extreme interpetation of Sharia.

The woman, fully aware of this, opted not to press charges and instead managed to arrange repatriation to the Philippines. All foreign workers returning home from Saudi Arabia are required to undergo a medical exam. That’s where the trouble started:

In September, as part of the reparation process, the woman had to undergo a physical examination during which it was discovered that she’s pregnant. Since September 11 the woman has been jailed at the Hafer Al Baten Central Jail for having an “illicit affair”. Due to the bad conditions in the prison, in December she suffered a miscarriage. After spending time in the hospital she was transferred back to prison.

The Saudi interpretation of Sharia law does not allow pregnant women to be lashed. However, now that Camille is no longer pregnant, she may be lashed at any time by the government. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs reports that the sentence will be carried out this month.

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