Saudi Arabia: 5 years in jail, SR3m fine for online gender imitation

Cairo: A Saudi lawyer has sternly warned against imitating the other sex on social media, saying the offence is punishable by up to five years in prison.

“We are in a country of Sharia [Islamic code] and law. We agree that the offence violates the Sharia,” said lawyer Ahmad Al Muhaimid.

He told Saudi state television Al Ekhbariya that under the kingdom’s anti-cyber crime law, violating public morality is toughly punished with maximum penalties of five years in jail and a fine of SR3 million.

Offenders are also named to be shamed.

The lawyer denied that imitating the other sex has become a phenomenon in Saudi society.

“They are isolated cases, which do not require a special penal code,” he said.

In recent years, Saudi authorities have made several arrests in different cases related to committing and propagating offences on social media.