RIYADH, 1 May 2008 — The Philippine Embassy is trying to gain access to a Filipino nurse who was arrested by members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice on Monday evening for being with a male colleague at a restaurant.
Commission members arrested Abigail Valdez, a nurse who works at the Riyadh Military Hospital, on charges of “immorality.” Valdez is being held at Al-Malaz Prison.
Philippine Ambassador Antonio P. Villamor told Arab News that he had sent officials from the embassy’s Assistance to Nationals Section (ANS) to the prison. According to Vice Consul Gerardo P. Abiog, who is in charge of ANS, the embassy was denied access.
“She would be released if the hospital (where she works) intervenes. She’s still in jail,” said Abiog, adding that prison authorities said they needed the approval of senior authorities.
“In the past, Riyadh Military Hospital has not intervened in such a case, saying the legal system should prevail... I don’t think she has been allowed contact with anyone. Even we at the embassy are having difficulty trying to see and talk to her,” he added.
The embassy official said that in such cases, it first investigates the incident and then tries talking to the person’s employer to get them bail out the individual. “However, we cannot force the employer if they do not want to act,” he added.
Mixing of sexes in public places is against Saudi law. Unrelated men and women caught dining at a restaurant would normally be sentenced to four months in jail and 100 lashes. The same punishment applies to a man and a woman caught in a state of seclusion (khulwa).
Valdez’s male colleague, who is of a Western nationality, was released several hours after being taken to a commission center and then to a police station. The man, who asked his name not be published, had his feet shackled when he resisted arrest.
“I am not going to play stupid here,” he told Arab News when asked about his knowledge of the Kingdom’s rules.
“Every country in the world allows access to a legal representative once arresting procedures take place. Here you can get arrested and thrown into jail without anyone knowing,” he said.
He added that with shackles on his feet the commission members forced him out of the restaurant by his belt and into a vehicle, without being shown any identity or an opportunity to contact a lawyer.
“At one point, I even told other Westerners in the restaurant whether they could believe what was happening to me as I was in shackles, but none of them cared to even me look me in the eye,” he added.
The man said he was separated from the Filipino nurse once they reached the commission’s center. “She sent me a text message from her phone saying she was being taken to Al-Malaz Prison and that she was freaking out. That was the last I heard from her,” he said.
He added that Valdez did not deserve such treatment, especially since she had been treating Saudis for over a decade. “She is a person who has served your own Saudi mothers and fathers for over 12 years,” he said. “She doesn’t deserve this kind of treatment.”
