The Religious Policeman

The Saudi newspapers had been quiet for a couple of days, or perhaps they had gone into denial. Anyway, they have finally decided that "The genie is out of the bottle", if I can use that expression, and are carrying the full story, so the government must also have given its approval.

Fron the "Green Truth" (The Arab News)

Saudi television presenter Rania Al-Baz whose near-death assault by her ex-husband Mohammed Al-Fallata was widely reported, has fled the country and decided not to return. Reports of her alleged escape aboard a foods lorry bound for Bahrain and from there to Paris were posted on Arabic websites two days ago. The reports claimed that she was prevented from traveling when she went to Jeddah International Airport last week for a trip to Paris where she was supposed to attend a conference on women’s rights. She has been traveling to Paris regularly to continue her plastic surgery treatment of multiple facial fractures caused by her ex-husband’s brutal beatings.

Moreover, it looks like a permanent move, not surprising, considering the way she had to escape in the first place.

A report in The Guardian newspaper confirmed that she was in Paris and that she “won’t go back”. She said that she was looking for a place to live and find work either in Paris or London.

And there's a rather intriguing comment

As for the reason why she fled, Rania told the British paper: “I was not safe any more in Saudi Arabia.”

Good luck to you, Rania, and every success in your new life.