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The man has 30 days to appeal the sentence in Saudi Arabia

A man in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to receive 100 lashes after he was found guilty of sending a racist text message.

The court in the Makkak region handed down the sentence after the defendant reportedly insulted a man from another tribe via text message, reports Gulf news.

The verdict is the first racism-related decision to be handed down in a Saudi court. The man has 30 days to appeal the sentence.

The issue of racism in the Gulf country has been highlighted recently following the case involving a female pilot dubbed the "Rosa Parks of Saudi Arabia".

Nawal Al Hawsawi dropped the case against three women who are alleged to have called her an 'Abda' (female slave), a derogatory term used to describe black people in the region.

Following huge media interest in the case, Al Hawsawi, a human rights activist, eventually dropped the case after the women involved in the allegations apologised.

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