Manama: The number of people to be referred to justice in a harassment case that has shocked Saudi Arabia has risen to six amid reports that the two victims could also be summoned following claims they had provoked the young men.
The authorities have called for a prompt investigation and conclusion of the rare group harassment on the Corniche of the Red Sea port city of Jeddah on the first day of Eid Al Fitr which marked the end of Ramadan.
“The two girls are most likely to be summoned by the investigators, particularly that one of the suspects said they had tried to run him over with the buggy they were riding,” sources told Saudi daily Al Watan. “Another suspect told the investigators that the girls had provoked them through their unusual behaviour.”
While some suspects denied harassing the girls, others said they were just teasing them and meant no harm, the sources added.
A video clip posted on the internet showed the girls, one fully veiled and the other with only half her face visible, pleading with the jeering youths to leave them alone.
The clip triggered widespread condemnation on social media, prompting calls for stringent action against the harassers.
Many who responded online claimed that such incidents were alien to local culture and that some of the harassers were imitating young people in other countries.
Makkah Province Governor Prince Khalid Al Faisal ordered an investigation into the matter and a better deployment of security forces to ensure the incident is not repeated.
However, the intensity of online reactions against the harassers dwindled after a second clip filmed before the incident emerged, showing the two girls in a buggy, with one of them appearing to make a gesture that could have been interpreted by the teenagers as an invitation to interact with them.
Some social media users started calling for the release of the teenagers, arguing they had been provoked by the girls.
Others called for action against the girls for breaking social norms and failing to behave in a manner consistent with local traditions.
The Investigation and Prosecution Commission refused to release the teenagers and extended their stay in custody by 15 days.
Under a long-standing tradition, Saudi men are brought to justice in cases of “immoral acts”, but the women are spared the measures. Authorities are usually content with informing their families and advising them to stay out of trouble.
A court in Jeddah has, however, recently decided to break with the tradition, insisting that it would accept cases only if both the men and women involved are brought to justice. The judges in the Jeddah court said that the public prosecution office should either file cases against all parties or forgive them all.
The 30km corniche in Jeddah features a coastal road, recreation areas, pavilions, large-scale sculptures and King Fahad’s Fountain, the tallest of its type in the world, which jets water 312 metres high.
