‘This is a decision that King Abdullah needed to make on behalf of Saudi Arabia, and we think it was the right one,’ Dana Perino, chief spokeswoman for US President George W. Bush, told reporters.
At a December 4 press conference, Bush had criticized the sentence and declared that the monarch had heard the US position on the case ‘loud and clear.’
‘My first thoughts were these: What happens if this happened to my daughter? How would I react? And I’d have been very emotional, of course. I’d have been angry at those who committed the crime, and I’d be angry at a state that didn’t support the victim,’ Bush said.
A spokesman at the State Department also welcomed the news.
‘King Abdullah quote, unquote ‘pardoned’ the victim in this case. Certainly, we’re pleased to see that action occurred,’ spokesman Tom Casey told reporters. ‘Everyone was rather astonished by the initial verdict and hope this puts this case to rest.’
