Police First Lt. Nawaf Al-Bouq told Arab News that the 27-year-old man had been previously charged “with a homosexual case but was bailed out.”
“This time he is facing three charges: One is for homosexuality; the other for general security; and the third is for impersonating a police officer,” said Al-Bouq.
The video depicts a young Saudi man dressed in a police uniform inside a vehicle flirting with the man holding the camera. He asks the cameraman for his driver’s license and offers “comfort.”
At one point, he waves around what appears to be a real handgun. Later in the approximately two-and-a-half-minute video on YouTube, he lifts up his shirt and rubs his chest. The video quickly spread online and through SMS until police detained both men involved in the act. Attempts have been made to block the video from being viewed in Saudi Arabia.
The case was made public because police wanted to clarify rumors that were spreading about the video.
“We were directed by higher authorities to give a statement to the press in order to clear things up to the public,” said Al-Bouq. “We always make sure that cases like this are not open to the public. I don’t think it’s appropriate or important for the citizens or the country. But after rumors were spread on the Internet we had to set things straight.”
