Orphans at Asir’s public orphanage have appealed to Asir Gov. Prince Faisal bin Khaled for help after reportedly being punished for allegedly misbehaving during a school trip.

The orphans wrote a letter to the governor, urging him to hear their side of the story and address their plight.

“We are being mistreated and we have no one to defend us and fight for us but your excellency,” the girls wrote in the letter. “We sincerely request that you allow us to meet with you and hear us out.”

The letter was signed “your daughters from the orphanage in Abha.”

The governor has been involved in the case from the start.

Chaos broke out last week at the orphanage after the director claimed that nine young woman, aged between 20 and 23, had started a riot and tried to burn down the building.

The director also claimed that the women threatened to use weapons against the staff.

The orphans, however, insist that events did not unfold the way they had been narrated and reiterated that they were suffering tremendously from ill-treatment and neglect.

Contrary to the director’s account that they had disappeared during a school trip to Jeddah, the women, who had been put up in a rented apartment during the trip, said they had not been given specific timings for meeting at shopping malls and other venues.

“Plans were made on the spot by our supervisor and we were only given SR50 in pocket money a day,” they said.

The girls, however, admitted to going to a nearby restaurant despite being told that they could not go, prompting the supervisor to call the police.

“Security officials arrived at the restaurant and took two girls to a police station, creating a scene of humiliation and terror,” they said.

According to the girls, the policeman was sympathetic and had told the supervisor to treat them better before letting them go.

“Still, the supervisor insisted on punishing us after we were released, confining us to the flat for the remaining three days of the trip. She then contacted the orphanage director, who had us sent back to the orphanage and told us we would not get an allowance for six months and would be banned from taking part in any trips,” they said. “We had no money to buy our basic necessities or pay for university ahead of the new academic year."

“We did not start a riot or break down the door like they claim,” they said. “We were shocked by her decision and simply went into her office to appeal, but she refused to hear us out and told us to get out of her office in a derogatory tone.”

“Some of the girls did take a file from the supervisor’s desk to see if there were written reports against them, and yes, some girls did admit to verbally threatening the director, saying she would regret treating them so badly.”

The women said that more than 50 security men from the Civil Defense and Red Crescent then stormed the orphanage, much to their shock.

Several men reportedly entered their rooms to arrest them despite the fact that many of the female orphans were not in abayas. “The director was nowhere to be seen at the time,” the complainants said.

“One security officer even pulled the hair of one of the girls and hit her before pushing her to the floor, causing parts of her body to become exposed. Another girl got hurt in the knee trying to defend her.”

The women complained that no one is following up on what happened to them or providing them with treatment. There isn’t even a medical report on their condition.

They said they have videos and pictures proving that security men had attacked them.

Four of the orphans reportedly had to transport their fellow housemate to Asir Central Hospital with the orphanage driver, only to be followed by security officers.

“The doctor overseeing the case refused to provide the injured girl with a medical report despite evident scars and bruises on her body,” they said.

The girls were then transferred to the police department in western Abha, where they were reportedly interrogated until 4 in the morning.

The director had also claimed that the girls had taken intoxicants and demanded blood tests to prove her allegations.

Much to their surprise, another team showed up at the orphanage the next day to arrest some girls, who had managed to hide by locking themselves up in their rooms.

A group of representatives from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Haia) also came to the orphanage, asking the orphans to come out of their rooms and speak with them.

Commission members said the girls refused to come out at first, but eventually agreed after one commission member promised to protect and assist them.

“The girls had politely told officials during the meeting that they were being denied basic rights and privacy, especially when officials had stormed into their room,” Sheikh Awad Al-Asrami, Asir’s Haia spokesman, has been quoted as saying by the media.

“We reminded the girls of their religious and moral duty to behave at all times and warned staff not to be unjust and to treat them well so that they develop strong values,” he said.