RIYADH — Dr. Mufleh Al-Qahtani, vice president of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), said yesterday that his organization was still awaiting an official reply from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice on the arrest of businesswoman Yara in Riyadh earlier this month.
“The commission’s statement published in the local newspapers regarding Yara’s case does not address the points we raised regarding the violations its officials committed against the woman,” Al-Qahtani told Arab News.
“We have visited Yara at her house and collected necessary information and sent a letter to the commission asking for clarifications. We are still waiting for an official reply. Only after receiving the reply will we be able to guide Yara as to what she can do next,” he explained.
Yara was arrested along with a Syrian colleague for being together in a Starbucks cafe in Riyadh on Feb. 4. The 36-year-old woman said she was forced to fingerprint two confessions and was strip-searched at Riyadh’s Malaz Prison.
Speaking to the local press, Yara said she has not yet recovered from the shock she suffered at the hands of the commission officials. A mother of three, she fears that the arrest would have negative impact on her children and family. She hoped that Saudi leadership would show keen interest in her issue and protect her rights.
“All this happened because of the commission officials. They confiscated my handbag that contained personal things. They also kept me in the rear compartment of the commission’s jeep for more than an hour-and-a-half before taking me to Malaz Prison,” she said.
Dr. Zuhair Al-Harithy, spokesman of the Human Rights Commission (HRC), said his organization had contacted the commission to get its version of the incident. He said that the HRC was still waiting for an official reply.
Jowhara Al-Anqari, a member of the rights commission, said she had also visited Yara to get first-hand information about the Riyadh incident.
The commission issued a statement last week defending its action against Yara and said she had violated the country’s regulations and Islamic law.
“The Ministry of Labor does not approve mixing of men and women at workplaces. So it’s both a violation of the country’s law and the Shariah,” said the commission’s director in Riyadh.
But Yara’s husband, Hatim, voiced his dismay at the commission’s response and said it contradicted the real story.
“Everybody who deals with my wife knows that she is very religious and follows the teachings of Islam,” he said. “She has been doing business for a long time.”
Hatim, who under Saudi law is Yara’s legal male guardian, pointed out that he holds no objections to his wife traveling freely.
“I married her more than 20 years ago and I did not find anything wrong in her traveling to Riyadh alone,” he said. “The government has (recently) allowed women to stay at hotels. This shows that the concerned authorities know that there are women who are involved in various types of commercial ventures. My wife travels abroad with my knowledge and permission.”
Hatim said that Yara has every right to run her businesses, pointing out that the Prophet’s wife Khadijah was a businesswoman. He said he was outraged at the way his wife was treated by the commission officials. “She was humiliated without any reason,” he said.
