4 expats arrested for insulting Saudi flag
Arrests were made after online video showed person collecting Saudi flag from garbage
Cairo: Saudi police said they had arrested four expatriates suspected of insulting the national flag. The four Bangladeshi nationals were arrested by police in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, spokesman for the local police said.
The official said it is necessary to preserve the Saudi flag and avoid insulting it in any way.
"Anyone, who violates this, will be arrested and face legal action," he added, according to the Saudi news agency SPA.
The arrests were made after a video posted online showed a person collecting the Saudi flag from garbage where the offenders had apparently dumped with throwaways inside it.
The unidentified person is seen then removing the items, cleaning and folding the flag that is inscribed with the Islamic proclamation of monotheism: There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is the Messenger of Allah.
The kingdom’s public prosecution had earlier warned that insulting the national flag or any other Saudi emblem is punishable by maximum imprisonment of one year or fines of up to SR3,000 or both penalties.