Saudi Arabia has arrested more than 200 people for violating “public decency” — including by wearing immodest clothing — and “harassment”, police said, in the first such crackdown since the ultra-conservative kingdom began easing social norms. Some 120 men and women have been arrested over the past week for offending public morals, including wearing “inappropriate clothes”, Riyadh police said in a series of statements on Twitter since Tuesday. But in September, Saudi Arabia said it would penalise violations of “public decency”, including wearing immodest clothing and public displays of affection, after the austere kingdom began issuing tourist visas for the first time. The public decency guidelines, first approved by cabinet in April, are widely perceived to be vague and have sparked public concern that they would be open to interpretation. But the bearded enforcers of public morality, whose powers have been clipped in recent years, are now largely out of sight.

Source: The Guardian December 29, 2019 14:37 UTC