NAJRAN — Juvenile court judge Ahmad Al-Shahrany sentenced 17-year-old schoolboy Ahmad Al-Mukhlis to 150 lashes and three months in jail. The teenager was accused of assaulting a police officer and members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Arisa, Najran.
The plaintiffs wanted the boy to be sentenced to two years in prison and are expected to appeal the verdict in the Court of Cassation.
Meanwhile, Juaed Al-Mukhlis, the boy’s father, traveled to Riyadh yesterday to file complaints with the Interior Ministry and human rights organizations seeking justice for his son. He will also appeal to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to intervene in the case.
In January, Al-Mukhlis accused members of the moral police in Najran of beating him up and causing him serious injuries.
Ahmad Belhamer, the Commission’s director in Arisa, issued a statement at the time claiming that the agents acted in self-defense after the teenager attacked them and a uniformed police officer with a sharp object.
Belhamer said that the boy confronted the men over a violation supposedly committed by his brother. The director said the older brother had committed some kind of offense and also had promised not to repeat the offense.
Belhamer did not provide further details, but it is common for the Commission to release people after they sign pledges not to repeat minor transgressions, such as verbally harassing women.
