Saudi Violence in the US

[Khoder bin Hakkin]

Saudi Princess Charged With Beating

ORLANDO, Fla.  A Saudi princess has been charged with beating her
servant and pushing her down a flight of stairs.

Princess Buniah al-Saud, the niece of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, was
held without bond at the Orange County Jail for allegedly beating Memet
Ismiyati, her Indonesian maid.

Al-Saud, 41, could get 15 years in prison if convicted of felony
aggravated battery.

Neighbors called 911 Friday after Ismiyati, 36, ran crying from the
apartment she shared with the princess. She told deputies al-Saud beat
her, hit her head against a wall and pushed her down a flight of stairs,
leaving her unable to walk.

"When we talked to her (Ismiyati) through an Indonesian interpreter and
saw the extent of her injuries, we upgraded the charges to a felony,"
said Orange County Undersheriff Malone Stewart.

Ismiyati was treated at a hospital and released.

When deputies went to the princess' apartment Friday, she denied
striking or pushing the maid, the Orlando Sentinel reported in Tuesday's
editions.

The Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C., said the princess had diplomatic
immunity. But the Immigration and Naturalization Service said al-Saud
failed to follow proper procedures by not notifying them of her
itinerary in America, thereby leaving her without diplomatic immunity.

The princess has been living in Orlando while studying English at the
University of Central Florida.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58468-2001Dec18.html