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6 Saudi men to face trial for harassing female tourist

August 16, 2021 at 12:58 pm

The Saudi Arabia national flag [Chris McGrath/Getty Images]

Six young Saudi men are to face trial for allegedly harassing a foreign female tourist, signifying a concerning phenomenon as the kingdom seeks to boost its tourism industry.

According to the Saudi Gazette, the allegations against the Saudis state that they surrounded the vehicle of the tourist in a neighbourhood in the capital Riyadh, then harassed her using rude gestures and words. One of the men reportedly rammed her vehicle with his and fled the scene.

The paper cited a source in the Public Prosecution, who revealed that the young men – who are in their 20s – are currently awaiting trial while investigations are being carried out into the incident. The six suspects have reportedly confessed to their involvement in the crime.

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Under the kingdom’s Anti-Harassment Law, the charges against the men are reported to include gathering for breaching of public morals, the hitting of a vehicle without license plates, and fleeing from the scene of a crime. If convicted, they could get up to ten years in prison.

A source in the Public Prosecution insisted that Saudi authorities aim to crack down hard on incidents of harassment, especially on foreign tourists. It comes as the kingdom has led a drive to expand its tourism sector over the past few years, pumping $4 billion into its tourism development fund last year and ambitiously aiming to receive 100 million tourists a year by 2030.

Riyadh also announced in June this year that it will launch a new national airline primarily for the purpose of boosting tourism and diversifying its economy.

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