By Souhail Karam, Reuters
RIYADH – Saudi Arabia’s religious police said on Monday they would sue newspapers for defamation after a series of press reports alleging abuses by their members.
The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice ensures Saudi society abides by an ascetic school of Islam applied in the kingdom, where clerics control the justice system.
The force has wide powers to search for alcohol, drugs and prostitution, ensure shops are shut at prayer time, ban non-Islamic worship and maintain a strict system of sexual segregation in Saudi society that even bans women from driving.
Over the past two months, Saudi newspapers have quoted Saudi citizens accusing members of the police of abusing them.
In some cases, the commission sought to defend itself through statements to the press but the newspapers quoted the same citizens contradicting the commission’s statements.
“This is not about suing the press simply because they criticized the commission. We welcome criticism,” Abdul-Mohsen al-Qassari, the commission’s spokesman, said.
“It is a reminder of the framework that has to govern the relationship between media and the commission.”
A court acquitted two commission employees of killing a Saudi citizen in 2007 after a raid on his home to seize alcohol. An autopsy said severe head injuries caused his death.
There have also been reports of road accidents, some of them fatal, when the morality police chased drivers suspected of being accompanied by females who were not relatives.
King Abdullah has promised political and judicial reforms since he took office in 2005 but has faced stiff opposition from clerics who helped the Al Saud family found the kingdom in 1932.
In February, King Abdullah removed two hardline clerics, one of them the commission’s head. Analysts say the move aimed to curb the influence of the religious establishment over justice and education.
The interior ministry has also made it unlawful for the religious police to arrest anyone in the absence of police.
Diplomats say some newspapers, encouraged by their owners who include members of the royal family, have adopted a pro-reform editorial line, especially regarding the religious police.
Ibrahim al-Mugaiteeb, head of the independent Human Rights First Society, condemned the plans to sue journalists. “Does the commission want the media to turn a blind eye to violations?”
“It’s the commission’s action that portrays itself not what is reported about it. Some people think the commission’s existence imposes an undesired control over society,” he said.
Some newspapers have been suspended over controversial articles. Journalists do not usually face jail terms but some have had to resign or have been dismissed.