JEDDAH: An unspecified number of young men have been arrested for harassing two Saudi girls at Jeddah Corniche a day after Eid Al-Fitr, even as experts called for a tough law on Monday to prevent such incidents.
A video clip of the case went viral on the social media on Sunday, triggering outrage over the episode and demands by citizens to arrest the culprits.
Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal directed the agencies concerned to expedite the investigation and arrest those involved in the case.
A website quoting Brig. Masood Al-Adwani, director of Jeddah police, said a team was formed to analyze the video and identify the culprits.
“The suspects were questioned before being arrested, and were handed over to the authorities concerned for further investigation and prosecution,” he said.
The video shows a group of boys harassing the girls by passing comments and even blocking their way and making some demands.
The girls, however, managed to escape from the scene.
Thousands of people started an Arabic hashtag on Twitter demanding action. The video was uploaded on YouTube and had 60,000 views in just 24 hours after being uploaded.
Police officer Col. Atti Al-Qarshi said the police have not received any complaint, but they took action on their own to arrest the perpetrators.
The incident sparked a debate for a law to deal with such situation.
Suhaila Zain Alabideen of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has expressed concern over the delay in introducing a law against harassment, the draft of which is being studied by the Shoura Council, an online newspaper said.
Researcher Nora Al-Zahrani has submitted a study on sexual harassment of women aged between 18 and 48, showing that 78 percent were subjected to sexual harassment and 92 women said sexual harassment is on the rise.
Hadi Al-Yami, a legal adviser, said a law is needed to deal with sexual harassment cases, which should be investigated by the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution and not merely by courts.
NSHR Secretary-General Khalid Al-Fakhri said sexual harassment issues fall within society’s concerns and the body is currently making serious efforts with relevant authorities to enact deterrent regulations.
Dr. Khaled Jalban, family and community medicine consultant at King Khalid University, stressed the need for clear regulations to protect women and children from all forms of harassment.
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