I've spoken out in semi-support of arabic countries in other threads of this kind, but here I must say that it was a gross corruption to hang this girl. Clearly that judge has some issues of his own if he is prepared to exploit the legal system and physically hang someone himself because they shouted at him.
Also, I feel I should point out that that list of punishments that were given are not typical i.e rub another man's leg does not imply lashes instantly. Often an appeal can be made and a prison sentence allocated instead, most people choose lashes over prison. For various reasons.
Of course, to us in the west it seems absurd to even list such acts as crimes. But, the laws of the middle east are not going to change without some serious cultural shift.
Also, I saw that someone mentioned Africa earlier in this thread and I would like to insert a comment about that.
The recent violence in Kenya is just the another example of a dictatorship springing up in that continent, bringing with it genocide. Why do these people choose to inflict so much suffering on other people and send their country backward so many years, just when they were starting to become prosperous? I think we can all hazard a guess.
Personally, I would be in favour of the west simply re-colonising africa and physically imposing western law and order as with these warlords around it seems unlikely to evolve on its own.