JEDDAH: Following the king’s pardon for a Saudi woman journalist for her role in a controversial television program about a man’s sexual exploits, the lawyer representing the chief defendant in the case has demanded the Ministry of Culture and Information review its stance on all media-related cases.

On Monday, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah waived the sentence of 60 lashes handed down to Rozanna Al-Yami for her role in the LBC show, “Bold Red Lines,” in which Mazen Abdul Jawad bragged about his sexual adventures.

“I request the ministry to intervene in the case of Omar Farouk Felamban, 36, a member of the Saudi Journalists Association who is in a Saudi jail. He should be included in the royal pardon. He is an employee of the ministry and was working as a photographer for Saudi Television,” said lawyer Suleiman Al-Jumaie.

“I request that any case related to media persons be examined by the Disputes Committee for Publications, an arm of the Ministry of Culture and Information. Journalists are unhappy over the recent trial of journalists by a court that has no jurisdiction over them,” he added.

In a related development, Al-Yami told Arab News she received a call from Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja shortly after the royal order was issued informing her that the cases against her and Iman Al-Rajab had been transferred to his ministry, the body authorized to handle such cases.

“When the minister informed me about it I was so overwhelmed by gratitude to Allah that I fell in prostration and also wanted to thank the king for doing justice to me,” she said.

Reactions to the pardon have been swift and welcoming. Jeddah-based columnist and radio journalist Samar Fatani said she was relieved to hear of the pardon. “It has put at ease a lot of journalists who were concerned and worried about carrying out their jobs. The punishment was too harsh. The appropriate procedure was to see if the reporter had done any harm. However, journalists should exercise some responsibility,” she said.

Alkhobar-based columnist and writer Abdullah Al-Alami described it as a victory for Saudi media. “I feel very happy for Rozanna. She is a well-respected journalist,” he said. “She was sentenced to 60 lashes for her work at a television channel on which many government officials, religious clerics and other well-respected public personalities from Saudi Arabia have appeared at regular intervals. The king’s pardon is another step forward toward the social reforms that he introduced in February 2009. Henceforth, I recommend that all cases pertaining to media and journalism be referred to the special committee at the Ministry of Information and Culture rather than referring them to local courts,” said Al-Alami.

Among a number of prominent personalities who approached Khoja to intervene on behalf of Rozanna was Jeddah-based businesswoman Ghada Ghazzawi.

“We met the minister on Sunday and basically told him that she had committed no crime. There were two cases against Rozanna: One was her alleged involvement in the making of the controversial episode involving Mazen Abdul Jawad; the second was her association with a channel that was said to have been operating illegally in the Kingdom. It was conclusively proved in the court that Rozanna had nothing to do with the Abdul Jawad episode. So that case was dropped. She was sentenced to 60 lashes for working for an organization that had no legal license to operate. This is the channel on which everybody has appeared. So we were expecting the king to pardon Rozanna. And he did. No wonder, he is referred to as the king of humanity. He has proved that again and again through his laudable actions,” said Ghazzawi, adding: “I would like to personally thank the king and the minister.”