RIYADH, 20 September 2007 — The family of one of the two members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice charged with the murder of Salman Al-Huraisi in late May is pleading for the life of their relative. The family of the commission member urged Al-Huraisi’s family to drop the case, forgive their son and seek God’s reward on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan.
Salman’s brother, Ali Al-Huraisi, commented, “We told them that we were not dropping the case and that they should seek the forgiveness of God for what their son did.” Al-Huraisi’s family has made it clear to officials at the General Investigation and Prosecution Authority that they were seeking the execution of those responsible for Salman’s death. The two commission members are currently in Al-Malaz Prison.
Over 18 commission members, not including police officers, raided Al-Huraisi’s house in May on suspicion that he was consuming and selling alcohol. An official statement said that members had found several bottles of alcohol in the house in addition to narcotics. According to Al-Huraisi’s father, three commission men continued to beat his son after he was taken to the commission center where he stopped breathing and was pronounced dead. The family is currently in the process of collecting money in order to assign an attorney to represent them in court.
“Most lawyers are demanding huge sums of money,” said the brother of the deceased. “Our choices are now limited due to a shortage of cash. But even if we are not represented by a lawyer, we are confident the judicial system will deliver justice at the end.”
In a related development, Salman’s sister-in-law, the wife of his brother Abdullah, was released from prison yesterday after being held for four months since the raid. Officials arrested all 11 family members who were in the house when the raid took place; this included both women and children.
Salman’s sister-in-law was charged with being with a man who was not her father, brother, uncle or son. Commission members found her in one of the apartments in the building with her husband’s nephew, Ahmed. According to Al-Huraisi’s brother Abdullah, who is still in prison, he had gone to his father’s apartment at the time of the raid to see about him, leaving his nephew in the apartment with his wife. Three of the 11 Al-Huraisi family members still remain in prison.
Al-Huraisi’s death, along with another high profile case in which a man died in the custody of the commission in Tabuk, triggered public controversy and discussion of the responsibilities of the commission as a government body and its role in society. Following the two deaths, the Interior Ministry curbed the powers of the commission by limiting its authority over the suspects they apprehend. The commission should deliver them immediately to local police.
