Saudi Arabia has jailed three men convicted of organising the rape of a teenage girl and later peddling footage of the assault across mobile networks. Two Saudi men used a video mobile to film the assault of a 17-year-old girl by a Nigerian man, a Saudi court heard. The subsequent distribution of this video across mobile networks ultimately led to the men's arrest and conviction.

The unnamed trio were this week sentenced to between two and 12 years imprisonment along with up to 1,200 lashes, Reuters reports. The men have a right to appeal.

Saudi Arabia recently overturned a ban against the import and sale of camera-equipped phones in the ultra-conservative Gulf state. Its government handed out the first 3G licence to mobile phone operator Ettihad Etisalat last week. Despite this, net use remains restricted and tightly controlled across the country. ®

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