The Supreme Judicial Council intends to investigate a complaint filed by citizens and lawyers against a judge who allegedly struck a plaintiff with a stapler at the General Court in Riyadh, said Fahd Al-Bakran, official spokesman at the Ministry of Justice.

“The council will take action if the charges are proven against the judge,” he said. “The council is keen on implementing the law against any citizen regardless of status.”

“The judiciary system is equipped to investigate such allegations. Such a case, however, is an isolated event that is not a phenomenon in any way,” he said.

A hashtag was created on Twitter denouncing the incident, referred to as the “stapler incident.”