Saudi Arabia To Investigate Videos Of Men Beating Girls And Women

Comment Authorities in Saudi Arabia are investigating a viral video that appears to show a group of men – some of them dressed in security uniforms – beating girls and women at a housing complex in the country’s southwest. The video emerged online this week and sparked outrage among Saudi dissidents and activists, who said it highlighted the kind of violence the state routinely inflicts on women and girls. In the video, police officers and plainclothes men chase the women into the compound’s courtyard, beating some of them with belts or batons. At one point in the video, men drag a girl across the yard by her hair while a policeman whips her and other men handcuff her. Prince Turki bin Talal bin Abdulaziz, the governor of the Asir region where the facility is located, said in a statement on Wednesday that he had instructed a committee to investigate the incident and “refer the case to the appropriate authority”. Sad video from the Khamis Mushait Orphanage showing security forces and masked men storming the premises and attacking girls who were protesting their conditions. The Saudi authorities must launch an investigation and hold the perpetrators accountable.pic.twitter.com/XuiQQ73F1c — ALQST for Human Rights (@ALQST_En) August 31, 2022 Storyful, the news and information agency that verifies social media content, confirmed the location of the video, which matched images of the state-run Social Education Corps for Girls in Khamis Mushait. The facility’s director, Samar bint Hassan Ahmed al-Harbi, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. It was unclear when the video was taken or what led up to the incident. The ages and identities of the women, some of whom were wearing black abayas, were also unknown. In Saudi Arabia, women are also often sent to “orphanages” or shelters to escape domestic violence or disobedience to family members. Women staying at these facilities, which are run by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, often complain of ill-treatment, rights groups say. According to ALQST, a UK-based rights group focused on Saudi Arabia, the person who first posted the video on social media said the attack on the women in Khamis Mushait was in retaliation for a protest about poor conditions livelihood and rights violations in the facility. The group said the events depicted in the video represented “the latest in a series of similar incidents in state-run social care homes” and Saudi prisons that have failed to investigate or bring justice to victims of abuse. “Many abused women have previously reported similar violations to official institutions, including care homes, and the perpetrators have not been held accountable,” Saudi Arabia’s European Organization for Human Rights said in a statement on Wednesday. The organization said it did not believe the incident would be properly investigated, citing “flaws in the justice system” and a general lack of accountability when it comes to crimes against women. Some Saudi news media reported that one of the security forces from the video was identified as the police chief in Khamis Mushait, Brig. General Muhammad Yahya al-Banawi. As video from the orphanage spread online this week, the Arabic-language hashtag “Khamis_Mushait_Orphans” started trending on Twitter and social media users denounced the beatings, while cartoonists mocked the Saudi state. “As if what women suffer under the male guardianship system is not enough, here we see how young women without male guardians living in orphanages can be violently attacked by the state for asserting their basic rights,” said Lina al-Hathloul, head of monitoring and communications at ALQST, said in a statement shared by the organization on Twitter. Hathloul is the sister of Loujain al-Hathloul, a prominent Saudi rights activist who was jailed for nearly three years after leading a campaign to allow women to drive. In August, Saudi authorities sentenced two more women — Salma al-Shehab and Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani — to decades in prison for critical online posts that prosecutors said violated public order and undermined the state, they said rights organizations. The decisions come amid a wider crackdown on dissent led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has pointed to some recent social and economic reforms as evidence he is working to modernize the kingdom. “Contrary to the narrative of reform and progress for women’s rights that the authorities keep trumpeting, the repressive system of male guardianship is still far from being dismantled,” ALQST said in its statement. “What the authorities call ‘indulgence’ or ‘disobedience’ to a male guardian … is treated as a crime.” Sarah Dadouch and Annabelle Timsit contributed to this report.

title: “Saudi Arabia To Investigate Videos Of Men Beating Girls And Women Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-21” author: “Maurice Steele”

Comment Authorities in Saudi Arabia are investigating a viral video that appears to show a group of men – some of them dressed in security uniforms – beating girls and women at a housing complex in the country’s southwest. The video emerged online this week and sparked outrage among Saudi dissidents and activists, who said it highlighted the kind of violence the state routinely inflicts on women and girls. In the video, police officers and plainclothes men chase the women into the compound’s courtyard, beating some of them with belts or batons. At one point in the video, men drag a girl across the yard by her hair while a policeman whips her and other men handcuff her. Prince Turki bin Talal bin Abdulaziz, the governor of the Asir region where the facility is located, said in a statement on Wednesday that he had instructed a committee to investigate the incident and “refer the case to the appropriate authority”. Sad video from the Khamis Mushait Orphanage showing security forces and masked men storming the premises and attacking girls who were protesting their conditions. The Saudi authorities must launch an investigation and hold the perpetrators accountable.pic.twitter.com/XuiQQ73F1c — ALQST for Human Rights (@ALQST_En) August 31, 2022 Storyful, the news and information agency that verifies social media content, confirmed the location of the video, which matched images of the state-run Social Education Corps for Girls in Khamis Mushait. The facility’s director, Samar bint Hassan Ahmed al-Harbi, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. It was unclear when the video was taken or what led up to the incident. The ages and identities of the women, some of whom were wearing black abayas, were also unknown. In Saudi Arabia, women are also often sent to “orphanages” or shelters to escape domestic violence or disobedience to family members. Women staying at these facilities, which are run by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, often complain of ill-treatment, rights groups say. According to ALQST, a UK-based rights group focused on Saudi Arabia, the person who first posted the video on social media said the attack on the women in Khamis Mushait was in retaliation for a protest about poor conditions livelihood and rights violations in the facility. The group said the events depicted in the video represented “the latest in a series of similar incidents in state-run social care homes” and Saudi prisons that have failed to investigate or bring justice to victims of abuse. “Many abused women have previously reported similar violations to official institutions, including care homes, and the perpetrators have not been held accountable,” Saudi Arabia’s European Organization for Human Rights said in a statement on Wednesday. The organization said it did not believe the incident would be properly investigated, citing “flaws in the justice system” and a general lack of accountability when it comes to crimes against women. Some Saudi news media reported that one of the security forces from the video was identified as the police chief in Khamis Mushait, Brig. General Muhammad Yahya al-Banawi. As video from the orphanage spread online this week, the Arabic-language hashtag “Khamis_Mushait_Orphans” started trending on Twitter and social media users denounced the beatings, while cartoonists mocked the Saudi state. “As if what women suffer under the male guardianship system is not enough, here we see how young women without male guardians living in orphanages can be violently attacked by the state for asserting their basic rights,” said Lina al-Hathloul, head of monitoring and communications at ALQST, said in a statement shared by the organization on Twitter. Hathloul is the sister of Loujain al-Hathloul, a prominent Saudi rights activist who was jailed for nearly three years after leading a campaign to allow women to drive. In August, Saudi authorities sentenced two more women — Salma al-Shehab and Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani — to decades in prison for critical online posts that prosecutors said violated public order and undermined the state, they said rights organizations. The decisions come amid a wider crackdown on dissent led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has pointed to some recent social and economic reforms as evidence he is working to modernize the kingdom. “Contrary to the narrative of reform and progress for women’s rights that the authorities keep trumpeting, the repressive system of male guardianship is still far from being dismantled,” ALQST said in its statement. “What the authorities call ‘indulgence’ or ‘disobedience’ to a male guardian … is treated as a crime.” Sarah Dadouch and Annabelle Timsit contributed to this report.

title: “Saudi Arabia To Investigate Videos Of Men Beating Girls And Women Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-06” author: “Allen Benson”

Comment Authorities in Saudi Arabia are investigating a viral video that appears to show a group of men – some of them dressed in security uniforms – beating girls and women at a housing complex in the country’s southwest. The video emerged online this week and sparked outrage among Saudi dissidents and activists, who said it highlighted the kind of violence the state routinely inflicts on women and girls. In the video, police officers and plainclothes men chase the women into the compound’s courtyard, beating some of them with belts or batons. At one point in the video, men drag a girl across the yard by her hair while a policeman whips her and other men handcuff her. Prince Turki bin Talal bin Abdulaziz, the governor of the Asir region where the facility is located, said in a statement on Wednesday that he had instructed a committee to investigate the incident and “refer the case to the appropriate authority”. Sad video from the Khamis Mushait Orphanage showing security forces and masked men storming the premises and attacking girls who were protesting their conditions. The Saudi authorities must launch an investigation and hold the perpetrators accountable.pic.twitter.com/XuiQQ73F1c — ALQST for Human Rights (@ALQST_En) August 31, 2022 Storyful, the news and information agency that verifies social media content, confirmed the location of the video, which matched images of the state-run Social Education Corps for Girls in Khamis Mushait. The facility’s director, Samar bint Hassan Ahmed al-Harbi, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. It was unclear when the video was taken or what led up to the incident. The ages and identities of the women, some of whom were wearing black abayas, were also unknown. In Saudi Arabia, women are also often sent to “orphanages” or shelters to escape domestic violence or disobedience to family members. Women staying at these facilities, which are run by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, often complain of ill-treatment, rights groups say. According to ALQST, a UK-based rights group focused on Saudi Arabia, the person who first posted the video on social media said the attack on the women in Khamis Mushait was in retaliation for a protest about poor conditions livelihood and rights violations in the facility. The group said the events depicted in the video represented “the latest in a series of similar incidents in state-run social care homes” and Saudi prisons that have failed to investigate or bring justice to victims of abuse. “Many abused women have previously reported similar violations to official institutions, including care homes, and the perpetrators have not been held accountable,” Saudi Arabia’s European Organization for Human Rights said in a statement on Wednesday. The organization said it did not believe the incident would be properly investigated, citing “flaws in the justice system” and a general lack of accountability when it comes to crimes against women. Some Saudi news media reported that one of the security forces from the video was identified as the police chief in Khamis Mushait, Brig. General Muhammad Yahya al-Banawi. As video from the orphanage spread online this week, the Arabic-language hashtag “Khamis_Mushait_Orphans” started trending on Twitter and social media users denounced the beatings, while cartoonists mocked the Saudi state. “As if what women suffer under the male guardianship system is not enough, here we see how young women without male guardians living in orphanages can be violently attacked by the state for asserting their basic rights,” said Lina al-Hathloul, head of monitoring and communications at ALQST, said in a statement shared by the organization on Twitter. Hathloul is the sister of Loujain al-Hathloul, a prominent Saudi rights activist who was jailed for nearly three years after leading a campaign to allow women to drive. In August, Saudi authorities sentenced two more women — Salma al-Shehab and Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani — to decades in prison for critical online posts that prosecutors said violated public order and undermined the state, they said rights organizations. The decisions come amid a wider crackdown on dissent led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has pointed to some recent social and economic reforms as evidence he is working to modernize the kingdom. “Contrary to the narrative of reform and progress for women’s rights that the authorities keep trumpeting, the repressive system of male guardianship is still far from being dismantled,” ALQST said in its statement. “What the authorities call ‘indulgence’ or ‘disobedience’ to a male guardian … is treated as a crime.” Sarah Dadouch and Annabelle Timsit contributed to this report.

title: “Saudi Arabia To Investigate Videos Of Men Beating Girls And Women Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-07” author: “Georgia Thompson”

Comment Authorities in Saudi Arabia are investigating a viral video that appears to show a group of men – some of them dressed in security uniforms – beating girls and women at a housing complex in the country’s southwest. The video emerged online this week and sparked outrage among Saudi dissidents and activists, who said it highlighted the kind of violence the state routinely inflicts on women and girls. In the video, police officers and plainclothes men chase the women into the compound’s courtyard, beating some of them with belts or batons. At one point in the video, men drag a girl across the yard by her hair while a policeman whips her and other men handcuff her. Prince Turki bin Talal bin Abdulaziz, the governor of the Asir region where the facility is located, said in a statement on Wednesday that he had instructed a committee to investigate the incident and “refer the case to the appropriate authority”. Sad video from the Khamis Mushait Orphanage showing security forces and masked men storming the premises and attacking girls who were protesting their conditions. The Saudi authorities must launch an investigation and hold the perpetrators accountable.pic.twitter.com/XuiQQ73F1c — ALQST for Human Rights (@ALQST_En) August 31, 2022 Storyful, the news and information agency that verifies social media content, confirmed the location of the video, which matched images of the state-run Social Education Corps for Girls in Khamis Mushait. The facility’s director, Samar bint Hassan Ahmed al-Harbi, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. It was unclear when the video was taken or what led up to the incident. The ages and identities of the women, some of whom were wearing black abayas, were also unknown. In Saudi Arabia, women are also often sent to “orphanages” or shelters to escape domestic violence or disobedience to family members. Women staying at these facilities, which are run by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, often complain of ill-treatment, rights groups say. According to ALQST, a UK-based rights group focused on Saudi Arabia, the person who first posted the video on social media said the attack on the women in Khamis Mushait was in retaliation for a protest about poor conditions livelihood and rights violations in the facility. The group said the events depicted in the video represented “the latest in a series of similar incidents in state-run social care homes” and Saudi prisons that have failed to investigate or bring justice to victims of abuse. “Many abused women have previously reported similar violations to official institutions, including care homes, and the perpetrators have not been held accountable,” Saudi Arabia’s European Organization for Human Rights said in a statement on Wednesday. The organization said it did not believe the incident would be properly investigated, citing “flaws in the justice system” and a general lack of accountability when it comes to crimes against women. Some Saudi news media reported that one of the security forces from the video was identified as the police chief in Khamis Mushait, Brig. General Muhammad Yahya al-Banawi. As video from the orphanage spread online this week, the Arabic-language hashtag “Khamis_Mushait_Orphans” started trending on Twitter and social media users denounced the beatings, while cartoonists mocked the Saudi state. “As if what women suffer under the male guardianship system is not enough, here we see how young women without male guardians living in orphanages can be violently attacked by the state for asserting their basic rights,” said Lina al-Hathloul, head of monitoring and communications at ALQST, said in a statement shared by the organization on Twitter. Hathloul is the sister of Loujain al-Hathloul, a prominent Saudi rights activist who was jailed for nearly three years after leading a campaign to allow women to drive. In August, Saudi authorities sentenced two more women — Salma al-Shehab and Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani — to decades in prison for critical online posts that prosecutors said violated public order and undermined the state, they said rights organizations. The decisions come amid a wider crackdown on dissent led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has pointed to some recent social and economic reforms as evidence he is working to modernize the kingdom. “Contrary to the narrative of reform and progress for women’s rights that the authorities keep trumpeting, the repressive system of male guardianship is still far from being dismantled,” ALQST said in its statement. “What the authorities call ‘indulgence’ or ‘disobedience’ to a male guardian … is treated as a crime.” Sarah Dadouch and Annabelle Timsit contributed to this report.