Saudi woman sues moral police
A Saudi civil court is to hear the first ever
case brought against the kingdom’s religious police.
A Saudi civil court is to hear the first ever case brought against the kingdom’s religious police, commonly known as the Muttawa.
The unnamed woman is seeking compensation after she and her daughter were allegedly wrongfully arrested in a shopping centre car park in 2004 for “not wearing decent clothing”, Abderrahman al-Lahm, her lawyer said.
Al-Lahm said the religious policeman in question arrested the pair, commandeered the car from their driver and drove them to his headquarters where the already sick mother suffered “health complications”.
The woman’s family is bringing the case before a civil court in Riyadh on Sunday after an Islamic court rejected the complaint, ruling that “a member of the religious police cannot be judged”.
Any nation and its government can work at moving law and culture forward apace with the growth in knowledge and understanding of the whole world. They can also decide that the most backwards elements of cultural history predominate, remain unmoved. You just might think that profit and power have something to do with that.
Posted: Sun - May 13, 2007 at 10:00 AM