After 13 years of legal struggle between a former employee of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Hai'a) and a Hai'a head in Riyadh, the Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the former employee and sentenced the head to 50 lashes for lying to the court. The incident took place in 1998 when Abdul Rahman Bin Sa'ad, a former Hai'a employee, was accused by the head of the Hai'a in Riyadh of forging his signature. In 2007, the Bureau of Grievances acquitted Sa'ad of the forgery charge. Sa'ad then filed a case against the Hai'a chief for harming his reputation and for having him dismissed from his job. The General Court sentenced the accused to 50 lashes for lying. The ruling was endorsed by the Court of Appeal in August. The court, however, did not look into Sa'ad's demand for compensation and referred it to the Bureau of Grievances, according to a report in Al-Hayat newspaper. “In 1998, a public hospital gave me a two-day sick leave and asked me to submit a letter proving that I was working for the Hai'a in that governorate,” Sa'ad said while relating the story to Al-Hayat. “I asked the acting head of the Hai'a to give me the letter, but he refused and deducted two days' wages from my salary. I then filed a complaint at the Hai'a headquarters in Riyadh and the official there asked me to write a letter to the hospital requesting proof that I was indeed in the hospital and was given a two-day sick leave.” “This happened in the presence of the Hai'a head who signed my letter,” Sa'ad added. But the Hai'a head later denied that he had signed Sa'ad's letter and accused him of forging his signature, due to which Sa'ad was transferred and ultimately dismissed. “My mother's health deteriorated after she heard people accuse me of being a forger. She later passed away. The false allegation has destroyed my life and now I have accumulated debts because I could not pay off the loans I took when I was working with the Hai'a. My name has been put on the blacklist of the Saudi Credit Bureau. I can't get a landline, a cell phone, buy a car or undertake any transaction with the bank.” Sa'ad is positive that the Bureau of Grievances will deliver justice to him if he files for financial compensation. But, Sa'ad says, he cannot afford the lawyer's fees, which amount to about SR200,000. Meanwhile, Dr. Issa Al-Ghaith, a judge, has called for updating the 33-year-old regulations governing the Hai'a. New laws should take into consideration many issues related to the way people and their issues should be handled, Dr. Al-Ghaith said. The new laws should also protect Hai'a members from being attacked, he pointed out. “Everyone should know their limit. We need the Hai'a and we're proud of them. We want to protect them against unfair criticism and bad reputation. We also want to protect people's rights from being infringed upon by some Hai'a members due to misunderstanding. It's a mutual benefit. The Hai'a members and the people will be safeguarded and protected,” Al-Ghaith said. Dr. Al-Ghaith emphasized that he is not criticizing the Hai'a but is only calling for updating regulations governing the Hai'a just like other regulations are updated within the judicial system. __
