Posted on 05/21/2011 5:32:26 PM PDT by george76
A Saudi linguist convicted of sexually assaulting a housekeeper and keeping her a virtual slave for four years won a 20-year reduction in his prison sentence Friday, and his defence attorneys hope it means he'll be released from prison soon.
District Judge J. Mark Hannen sentenced Homaidan al-Turki to between eight years and life in prison during a hearing Friday in Centennial. Hannen cited al-Turki's good behaviour in prison in cutting the sentence from its original 28 years to life.
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Al-Turki insists he is innocent and a victim of anti-Muslim sentiment. His case has angered Saudi authorities — several of whom attended Friday's hearing — and prompted the U.S. State Department to send Colorado Attorney General John Suthers to Saudi Arabia to meet with King Abdullah, Crown Prince Sultan and al-Turki's family after al-Turki's 2006 conviction.
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Al-Turki brought his wife, five children and an Indonesian housekeeper to Colorado in 1995, and he studied at the University of Colorado. He was a well-known member of Denver's Muslim community, contributing money to the Colorado Muslim Society and an Islamic elementary school in Aurora, said Sheikh Abu-Omar Almubarac, a society co-founder. Almubarac and others said al-Turki also helped individuals, including financial support to Muslims making pilgrimages to Mecca known as hajj.
According to court documents, al-Turki first came under investigation when authorities examined whether his operation of a business violated terms of his student visa. Al-Turki owned Al-Basheer Publications & Translations, which distributed Islamic works in English.
After interviewing the housekeeper, prosecutors brought the assault and slavery charges against al-Turki.
Al-Turki's company holds the copyright to "The Lives of the Prophets," a CD set of Islamic sermons that tell stories about Muslim prophets recorded by the U.S.-born radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.
(Excerpt) Read more at ca.news.yahoo.com ...
In his home country ,he would have long become camel fodder.
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