Four men have been found guilty of whipping a Muslim convert as
punishment, under Sharia Law for drinking alcohol and taking
drugs.  It is the first time a case like this has come before
the Australian courts.  Four men broke into Christian Martinez's
Silverwater unit in Sydney's west in 2011 and whipped him 50
times with an electrical cord in the name of religious law.  Mr
Martinez was a recent convert to Islam.  The day before the
attack he had drunk alcohol and taken drugs and had called his
religious mentor, Wassam Faayad, to tell him.  Fayed then
carried out the whipping on Mr Martinez as punishment under
Sharia law while the three others held him down.  During the
attack Mr Martinez asked for it to stop.  All four men have been
found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in
company.  They will be sentenced at a later date.