JEDDAH — The Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution (BIP) has said six suspects will face trial for involvement in the Corniche harassment incident.
Official spokesman for Makkah Province Police Col. Ati Al-Qurashi said the harassment video showed two girls being mobbed by a larger number of young men, who were dubbed "hunting wolves" by social media sites.
“The BIP, however, has identified six suspects and arrested them. Their case was forwarded to a special penal court," Al-Qurashi said.
He said one of the suspects claimed it was the two girls who started the harassment.
"The suspect said the girls were riding a motorcycle and they drove around harassing young men. He even accused the girls of trying to run him over,” said Al-Qurashi.
The girls were identified and called to the BIP office for questioning, Al-Qurashi said.
“Two separate indictments will be filed in the case — one against public rights and the other against private rights. The bureau found the incident indecent and a cause for public concern,” said Al-Qurashi.
He said all six suspects in the video admitted they were present at the scene of the incident.
“One suspect said they never meant to harm the girls and they were just making fun of them,” said Al-Qurashi.
Meanwhile, a new case of harassment of a girl was reported from Taif on Friday.
Al-Qurashi said police formed a task force to study a new video showing a group of youths chasing a girl presumably outside a shopping mall in Taif. And a search was under way to arrest the youths who appeared in the video.
The 11-second video showed the girl walking in one of the streets near the mall with two young men following her. A third youth took her pictures while seated in a vehicle. He offered her a lift. Then one of the youths following the girl grabbed her.
Al-Qurashi said neither the girl nor her family reported the incident to the police.
“The video that went viral on social media angered many members of the public,” said Al-Qurashi, adding that incidents of harassment of young girls have become frequent and could turn into a social problem.
Head of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) Mufleh Al-Qahtani said the society was "not interested in looking into harassment cases at the moment".
“Despite the increasing frequency of such reports in the media, harassment is not yet a social phenomenon in our society. The NSHR will perhaps look into the matter at a later stage,” said Al-Qahtani, who is vacationing abroad.
