RIYADH, 28 May 2007 — The president of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Ghaith, said yesterday that several suspects from the Riyadh commission were being questioned by authorities regarding the alleged beating to death of a Saudi citizen last Wednesday. “The Commission for Investigation and Public Prosecution as well as the Governorate of Riyadh are still investigating the matter,” Al-Ghaith said. He did not give the number of suspects from the virtue commission who are being interrogated. Several newspapers have reported that as many as eight are being investigated.

The Governorate of Riyadh issued a press statement yesterday about the alleged murder. It said that it had received information from the commission that the deceased, Sulaiman Al-Huraisi, was selling alcohol from his apartment. The statement also said that authorization had been given to the local police and the commission to raid the house according to regulations.

“On May 23, the house was raided and everyone inside was apprehended. After searching the house, 23 bottles of liquor in addition to a 40-gallon barrel full of liquor were confiscated. In addition, 146 Captigon pills were found. A Kalashnikov machine gun licensed in the name of the owner was confiscated. A magazine was also found with 70 bullets in it,” the statement said.

It confirmed that during the apprehension, someone inside the house died. It said that the father of the deceased had testified that his son died due to constant beating. It also said that members of the commission were beaten when they entered the house.

“All persons involved in the case have been arrested for questioning, including members of the commission and the police force,” the statement added. The Riyadh Governorate said that investigations were under way to determine the cause of death as well as the possibility of abuse of authority.

Al-Ghaith said that if proven guilty, members of the commission would be punished for their crimes, but if they were found innocent, they would be rewarded. Speaking to reporters following a ceremony to honor its retired officers, Al-Ghaith denied that entry to the house to apprehend a man sought for possessing alcohol was done in an unlawful manner. “The inspection of the deceased person’s house went according to the rules and regulations. The presidency (virtue commission) will not hesitate to announce to the media the outcome of the investigation once things have been established.”

Ali Al-Huraisi, brother of the deceased, accused the virtue commission of forced entry into his brother’s house and their lack of respect for the women in the house. He told Arab News that the virtue commission had arrested all the people in the house, including women and his brother’s elderly father. He added that the police allegedly began to beat his brother after the forced entry and continued beating him until he died at their detention center in the Al-Oraija district of Riyadh.

Al-Ghaith expressed his disappointment at the way Saudi newspapers were handling the alleged murder case which he described as “an attempt to blow up mistakes by the commission.”

He said that the virtue commission was seeking to “make friends and not enemies in the community.” He called on journalists to be fair in their reports, adding that the virtue commission welcomed constructive criticism. “If the media handle cases without adding or omitting information, we welcome that,” he said. He denied that the commission was media-hostile and said that it cooperated with journalists.