This week’s selection of Dymphna’s Greatest Hits is from June of 2005. I remember the case well — Homaidan Al-Turki was convicted, but I don’t know if he’s still in prison.

Note: Most of the original links are now bad, and have been removed.

The Slave Owner’s Book Store

By Dymphna
Originally published June 13, 2005

Everyone must know by now about the Saudi couple in Colorado facing state and federal charges on various counts:

A Saudi Arabian couple was in custody Friday, accused of turning a young Indonesian woman into a virtual slave, forcing her to clean, cook and care for their children while she was threatened and sexually assaulted.

A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted Homaidan Al-Turki, 36, and his wife, Sarah Khonaizan, 35, on charges of forced labor, document servitude and harboring an illegal immigrant.

Al-Turki also faces state charges including kidnapping, false imprisonment and extortion, as well as 12 charges of sexual assault. His wife faces some of the same charges. The two could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.

U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Jeff Dorschner said the Indonesian woman, who is in her 20s, came to the United States with the couple legally to perform domestic chores. But her U.S. visa was hidden from her by Al-Turki and Khonaizan, according to Thursday’s indictment.

The woman was controlled by “a climate of fear and intimidation” that included sexual abuse and the belief that she would “suffer serious harm” if she did not perform her tasks, the indictment said.

The woman is believed to have lived with the couple from 2000 until November 2004, according to authorities.

Mr. Homaidan Al-Turki, the alleged perpetrator of these crimes, is the owner of a book store called Al-Basheer Publications and Translations. Here is his “About” page:

Al-Basheer Publications & Translations began in 1417 Hijri, 1996 C.E. and is dedicated to publishing high quality books on Islam from only authentic sources. Our titles are by distinguished scholars from around the world. Most notably, we are the publisher for books written and translated by Sheikh Jamaal al-Din Zarabozo.

Al-Basheer Publications & Translations is dedicated to the spread of knowledge from the Aqeedah and Minhaj of Ahl us-Sunnah wa al-Jama’at. All of our books, tapes and other products that we publish and distribute have all be carefully researched to ensure quality and accuracy of content. May Allah guide us in this effort (emphasis added).

We distribute a huge selection of items, including books, tapes, videos and gifts. In the coming weeks, you will see these items as they are added to our inventory on the internet and to our catalogues. We carry books in English, Arabic, and more than 13 other languages. Currently we have opened Maktabat Al-Basheer on the internet to assist you in shopping for the best books in English and Arabic, as well as the Quran and translations of the Quran.

We welcome your questions and comments at info@al-basheer.com.

By all means, drop him an email; he says your comments are welcome.

Meanwhile, there’s a spotlight special on the website this week.

You might want to hurry, though. It says there are only four copies left. No doubt there were five before he gave a copy to the maid.

UPDATE: More specific details have been released about the Indonesian slave.

She was 17 in 1999 when she flew to Ridyadh to begin her sojourn with the Saudi slave masters. They moved to Colorado in 2000.

Promised $160.00 a month, she received $1.91 a day for a day that began at 6:00 a.m. preparing breakfast for the family which they ate while she waited in the basement. Eventually, in addition to laundry, cleaning and washing the family cars, her duties grew to include servicing the head of the house:

Shortly after arriving in the U.S., Al-Turki began making improper advances toward her, including watching her shower and touching her, she said. Gradually, his sexual overtures escalated until he was raping her, she told authorities.

If you were wondering how she escaped, the authorities were given “a tip” that the family was harboring an illegal alien. They got a search warrant in November, 2004 and discovered the slave. She was removed from the home and legal proceedings began.

One nice note: this couple has known since November that they were going to be indicted. That’s a lot of sleepless nights between November and June. Kind of gives you a warm feeling to dwell on their predicament.

If the benighted MSM doesn’t bury this story under toilet paper, it will be interesting to see how the trial goes and what the sentence is. Perhaps old Al-Turki should talk to Michael Jackson, see what the secret is.