YANBU â A war of words has erupted in the wake of an alleged attack on members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice here, Al-Madinah said. Thirteen locals had reportedly attacked members of the commission in front of their offices in an attempt to rescue two men and two women the commission had arrested on the beach on suspicion of not being related to one another. One of the women escaped and all 13 alleged attackers were later arrested. One of the 13 now says the attack was motivated by members of the commission kicking and pulling the hair of one of the women in their custody in front of witnesses. The commission denies this.
| "No, no! Certainly not! We're Arabs, after all. Why would we lie?" |
Ahmad Hamed Al-Refaie, 30, told the newspaper: âI was on my way to my cousinâs house when I saw a member of the commission dragging a girl into the street by her hair. She saw me and started calling for help. I told the mutawwa to leave her alone because he has no right to arrest her. He was not accompanied by a police officer and he wasnât riding an official car.â The commission has no powers of arrest.
| "We don' need no stinkin' powers of arrest!" |
Al-Refaie said an argument then erupted between him and the commission member, who continued to assault the woman. âHe beat her up badly with a wooden stick. Other people tried to help, but he threatened to kill me,â he said. After Maghreb prayer that evening, Al-Refaie said, the commission member accompanied by some 20 men including his brothers went to his house and beat him unconscious with metal bars. âIf I was in the wrong, why didnât he simply come with the police and have me arrested?â Al-Refaie asked.
| Because you live in a theocratic dictatorship, dimbulb. |
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