The public lashing of 80 youths for acts of vandalism in the Eastern Province during National Day celebrations last week was postponed at the last minute Sunday without explanation. Large crowds had gathered at the Al-Khobar and Dammam seafronts on Sunday evening to witness the carrying out of the sentence, which ruled that each individual receive 30 lashes of the whip, and bystanders in Al-Khobar said that a Prisons Administration van arrived at the seafront only to depart shortly afterwards. Al-Watan newspaper reported that 12 of the 80 were scheduled ot be lashed, their ages ranging from 18 to 30 years. The 80 youths, among them 14 minors who are being held at Dammam's Social Protection Home, have been charged with vandalizing shops and restaurants on the Al-Khobar seafront in what the police spokesman in the region described as a “vicious attack”, and the extent of the damage caused has yet to be fully assessed. The events, however, prompted around 50 young Saudis to initiate a campaign to apologize to the owners and staff of affected outlets timed to coincide with Sunday's execution of the sentence. “We have presented cards of apology on behalf of Saudi youth to about 25 places, and around 200 presents to staff of various nationalities,” said Ali Batarafi of Al-Khobar Volunteer Club who organized the initiative.
