Saudi Arabia issues verdict of “defamation” against a man accused of...

        Riyadh (AFP) - A Saudi court "for the first time" this week ordered the publication of a man's name after he was found guilty of harassing and harassing a woman, the first such measure in the conservative kingdom.        
          
And the Saudi "Al-Ekhbariya" channel reported that a court had issued a ruling "to defame a citizen who was convicted in an incident of harassment, in the first judicial procedure of its kind in the Kingdom." 

According to the channel, last year the Council of Ministers added a new paragraph to Article Six of the Anti-Harassment Crime Law issued in 2018, stating that “it is permissible to publish a summary of the ruling in local newspapers according to the gravity of the crime and its impact on society.”

For its part, Okaz newspaper reported that the Specialized Criminal Court in Madinah issued a prison sentence and a fine on a citizen as a result of harassing, verbalizing and harassing a woman, with imprisonment for eight months and a fine of 5000 riyals, and publishing his sentence in a newspaper.

In August 2021, the Saudi Public Prosecution announced that it had arrested six Saudis after they harassed a foreign tourist in the capital, Riyadh.

Since Prince Mohammed assumed the position of crown prince in 2017, Saudi Arabia has witnessed a campaign of social change that includes allowing women to drive cars, opening cinemas, holding Western and Arab concerts, and unprecedented seasons of entertainment in the conservative kingdom.

But these changes were also accompanied by a crackdown on critics, journalists, and opponents, especially human rights activists.

© 2022 AFP