Attempted Suicide: Religious Police Deny Riyadh Man’s Charge

JEDDAH, 15 May 2003 — The head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Ghaith, has said that allegations by a Saudi man that he was mistreated by the commission, which led to his attempted suicide, were baseless.

Sheikh Ibrahim stressed that the commission has no right to lock people in their offices or to confiscate people’s mobile phones and look into their contents. He admonished commission members to behave so that people would welcome them instead of being angered and disgusted by them.

The sheikh’s comments were made in a radio show on Saudi Radio 2. Excerpts of the interview were published in Al-Watan daily newspaper. During the interview, the sheikh answered questions from callers or questions received by fax. Below is the text of the interview:

Q: The question that we cannot ignore concerns the man in Riyadh who threatened to kill himself and his family in one of the city’s public squares because of what he called unjust treatment by the commission. According to the man, he was lighting a cigarette in a public mall as he waited for his young daughters who were in a fun center. He was approached by an officer who normally accompanies commission members; the officer repeatedly called him a donkey and ordered him to extinguish his cigarette. The officer then, according to the man, handcuffed him and locked him in a cell in the basement of the mall for several hours. The man said that he was forced to sign papers saying that he would file no charges against the commission. I am sure that you heard of this matter, Your Excellency, since you carefully follow what goes on. What actions were taken in response of this incident?

A: We have heard of this incident and read about it in the newspapers. The commission was not involved and the newspaper rushed to publish the story without first verifying it. There are some details in the story which are evidently false — the date, for example. The man alleges that the incident took place four years ago. When we looked at our records, we found out that we had had only one previous contact with him and that was in 1412 and he was not arrested. Now the present Hijrah year is 1424. Is it possible that the incident happened 12 years ago and that he is still so affected by it that 12 years later, he would threaten to commit suicide? The mall that he says he was in did not even exist 12 years ago. The commission does not imprison people. It writes reports and hands cases over to the relevant authorities.

As to the man’s claim that he was verbally abused for smoking, I do not think that he is the only one who smokes in public places. Many people do so and the commission does not arrest people for smoking in public places. It is impossible that commission members or the police curse or swear at members of the public. We work to help people. The chief of police in Riyadh has said that this man suffers from depression and I think the story was the product of his imagination.

Question from a woman: In the Sahara Mall in Riyadh, I saw with my own eyes a member of the commission ordering any woman talking on her mobile to shut it off or risk confiscation. And indeed, he did confiscate a few mobiles from some women and searched through the contents of the text messages. Isn’t that considered a violation of people’s privacy and of their freedom? I leave the matter for you to judge. And as God is my witness, what I am saying is true.

A: People from the commission do not do that. We have not received any complaints from men or women claiming that their mobiles were confiscated by members of the commission. We do not approve of our people looking through the contents of mobiles. It is possible, however, that these things could have been done by civilians acting for themselves. Our men working in the field carry personal ID cards with photos and a logo showing that they belong to the commission. Even their cars have a logo and they are accompanied by a police officer. Confiscating mobiles and examining their contents is not our job. It is the job of interrogators who look at messages if the matter is related to security.

Q: Why doesn’t the commission announce punishments meted out to erring members so there could be a lesson to others?

A: When we punish people, we do not announce the fact. Our religion tells us not to exploit people, especially in matters of relatively small errors — which are about 80 percent of the total arrests. Commission members are like other ordinary people; they will be punished for their wrongdoings. If people have complaints against our members, I hope they will not hesitate to call us or contact any of our centers. We are willing to give them all the assistance they need.