Saudi man sentenced to ‘prayer calls’ instead of whipping

RIYADH - A court in the Saudi district of Badr sentenced a man Wednesday to perform prayer calls at a local mosque for one month, Saudi newspaper al-Riyadh reported.

The man had been convicted of covering up details of a theft and was given the sentence as an alternative to the standard punishment, whipping.

In addition to performing the call to prayer five times a day, the man has been ordered by the court to memorize a section of the Islamic holy book, the Koran.

The sentence has been used by a large number of Saudi judges in cases where they believe a convict has a high chance of rehabilitation into society.

Saudi Arabia follows strict Islamic laws, or sharia, which often employs corporal punishment for criminal offenses.