A forensic-cultural analysis of criminal storytelling in Saudi judicial discourse

This research explores the role that criminal narratives play in the Saudi courtroom from a cultural viewpoint of narrative criminology. Drawing on 30 authentic cases covering courtroom verdicts, personal confessions and internet testimony, the paper investigates the ways that defendants use storytelling strategies to report guilt, innocence, remorse or rationalization. The analysis contextualizes these storytelling strategies in regard to Saudi institutional traditions, Islamic epistemic rules, Arab culture and courtroom speech conventions. The findings reveal that Saudi crime cases frequently rely on religious allusion, fatalism and longstanding socio-cultural values. The research expands courtroom discourse theory by showing how Saudi judges evaluate narratives to interpret, validate or reject defendants’ presentations based on legal, religio-moral and rhetorical coherence. The study offers a typology of Saudi crime cases and examines their forensic consequences, creating a useful framework for understanding narrative validity, moral assessment and evidential cultural context within Sharia-based criminal justice.