JEDDAH, 3 February 2008 — Saying that it cannot be held accountable for the “personal mistakes” of its members, the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice submitted to the Court of Grievances its official reply to Umm Faisal yesterday.
Umm Faisal, 50, is claiming “psychological, physical and material damage” against the commission for an incident that occurred in front of a Riyadh shopping center in 2004. Members of the commission accused Umm Faisal and her daughter, who were waiting in their car together with their driver in Riyadh in 2004, of not conforming to customs of decency.
Umm Faisal challenged the commission in a lawsuit filed in April 2007. Since then, several hearings were postponed either because the commission’s representative failed to show up in court or because the commission successfully petitioned the court for a delay.
The lawyer in the case, Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem, said that spurring the commission to reply to the complaint formally was an important development. “This was one of the major goals of the case, besides the compensation,” he said. “The commission has been forced to come out of its ivory tower. No one should be above the law.”
“The commission’s reply used legal terms and articles that may not be correct in the defendant’s view, but this made them realize that they don’t hold immunity and that they are not above the law,” said Al-Lahem. “This is a victory in itself.”
According to the complaint, the commission members detained Umm Faisal and her daughter, placed them in a commission vehicle and prevented them from contacting family members. Then, when the vehicle began having mechanical problems, the commission members dropped the two women in “a state of panic and horror at the side of the road,” said Al-Lahem. Passersby stopped and helped the women contact their relatives.
The women quickly complained to officials about the incident. A committee of various government bodies was formed to coordinate with the General Investigation and Prosecution Authority (the Saudi equivalent of an attorney general).
“A commission member was found guilty and was sentenced accordingly,” said Al-Lahem. “However, the sentence he received has not been announced to the public.”
In September 2006, the first court to hear the case dismissed the woman’s suit, citing a fatwa stating that citizens could not hold commission members accountable, said the lawyer.
In response to the commission’s claim that it is not responsible for “personal mistakes,” Al-Lahem said that the commission should be held accountable as any other government establishment.
Al-Lahem said that the judges at the Court of Grievances — the Saudi court that deals with citizens’ complaints against the government — dealt with the case very objectively and gave all parties a fair chance. Al-Lahem said he has requested that the next hearing — the one where he will reply to the commission’s answer — be scheduled for April 5 to give him time to formulate a thorough response.
