WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Discrimination based on gender, religion, race and ethnicity is widespread in Saudi Arabia, and human trafficking continues to plague Saudi society, according to the State Department.
"Lack of governmental transparency and access made it difficult to assess the magnitude of many reported human rights problems," the report, released on Wednesday, stated.
For example, the report noted that there were no confirmed reports of torture, even though many prisoners were serving sentences based on convictions they claimed were obtained through torture or physical abuse.
The report also said that violence against women remains a problem, with spousal abuse a common occurrence.
In addition, the report documented traditions within Islamic law that the Saudis cite to ban women drivers, limit inheritances due to wives and daughters, and discount female court testimony as worth half that of men.
The report, however, credited Saudi authorities with allowing women to run for public office and noted that several females had won positions in elected bodies.
Because Saudi Arabia has no written penal code that lists criminal offenses and recommended punishments, judges were free to determine sentences based on widely varying interpretations of Sharia law, the legal code of Islam, the report concluded.
