Saudi Arabian Wife Facing Jail for Posting Video of Cheating Husband Online

A Saudi woman who secretly filmed her husband kissing the couple's housemaid and then posted the footage on the internet, is now facing defamation charges.

A Saudi Arabian woman who used her mobile phone to take secret footage of her husband kissing their housemaid, and then posted it online, is now facing a jail sentence under Saudi Arabia's defamation law.

The film went viral and triggered fierce debate on social networks in Saudi Arabia, with many bloggers writing in support of the wife.

"I salute you warmly for your valiant courage," wrote one blogger, Al Yamama.

"You did the best thing because there was an urgent need for revenge and your revenge is the best." 

However, others wrote to say that the issue should have been dealt with privately, and not in public.

"What she did in fact was to expose her private life and problems for everyone to see. The situation is compounded if they have children because there will be dire consequences," commented blogger Al Mezzen.

The wronged wife now faces defamation charges, which carry a maximum sentence of one year in prison, or a fine of up to 500,000 Saudi riyals [$133,332]. 

Millions of migrants, mainly from Africa and Asian countries such as the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka and Nepal, work in Saudi Arabia as domestic help. According to a survey cited by Gulf News, 54.3 per cent of those working as maids in the Kingdom wish to marry the husband of the family they work for.