A young man from Qassim province in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to eight months in jail with 300 lashes for meeting an unrelated woman.

The couple, who have not been named, made contact online then met at a well-known restaurant in Riyadh, according to al-Jazirah newspaper (in Arabic). They were then caught by the religious police and handed over "to the competent authorities".

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 16 November 2009.