Saudi cafe owner jailed for touting ‘halal wine’

Cairo: A Saudi citizen, who owns a coffee shop in the city of Jeddah, has been sentenced to three months in jail for advertising what he called “halal wine”, Okaz newspaper reported Monday.

The man had appeared in a paid online advert of nearly three minutes promoting his business, using phrases that the court deemed violating public morality and religious values. The defendant appeared in the video advert saying: “There is now a bar in Jeddah”; “All drinks are free of alcohol”; and described the drinks served in his cafe as "halal wine".

In investigations, the man defended his act, arguing that he had promoted legal drinks at his licensed cafe and that the drinks were procured from suppliers in the Saudi market.

After several hearing sessions held remotely, the Jeddah-based court found him guilty and also ordered him to pay a fine of 10,000 Saudi riyals as part of the ruling based on an anti-cyber crime law. The court also ordered the "offensive" advert be banned . An appeals court later upheld the verdict.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, filed separate lawsuits against four social media celebrities involved in producing and propagating the contested video, according to the paper.