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.