Cairo: Saudi prosecutors have ordered the arrest of a man and a woman after they appeared in a video deemed in breach of public morals and Islamic values, Saudi media reported Monday.
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The footage, which went viral online, shows a man clad in the traditional Saudi costume and headgear meeting a woman inside a living room and tells her to remove her abaya, a loose cloak often worn by women in Saudi Arabia.
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“The time of abaya is over. This is the time of entertainment,” he tells the woman before he kisses her hand.
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The video was filmed in Riyadh and the woman who appeared in it is a Jordanian fashion model, Saudi online newspaper Ajel said. Both are accused of violating and mocking public morality.
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Governor of the Northern Region Prince Faisal Bin Khaled ordered the arrest of the man who seems to be a Saudi citizen, the paper added.
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“Prosecution keeps a close watch on whatever violates religious values and public morals, and constitutes a crime liable to legal punishment according to relevant codes and regulations,” Saudi news portal Sabq reported, quoting a prosecution official.
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In recent years, Saudi Arabia has introduced dramatic social reforms aimed at shedding the country’s ultra-conservative kingdom. Last year, Saudi Arabia allowed women to get behind the wheel, ending a decades-old ban on female driving.
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Big-name performers from around the world have also given concerts in the kingdom as part of an ambitious scheme to diversify its oil-dependent economy.
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The Morning and Evening Brief###
The Morning and Evening Brief