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Virtue Commission: Religious Police Required to Wear Nametags
 Authorities said yesterday that the case of a man and his wife who were allegedly beaten by members of the religious police is still under investigation, Arab News has learned. They also emphasized the requirement that members of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice to wear identifying badges.
| "Bodges? We don' need no steenkin' bodges" |
According to reports, the undercover officers, who were driving an unmarked white sedan, thought the couple were not married and followed them home to arrest them. The man filed a report to the Riyadh Police Department two days ago saying that he was approached by two men in a white car that grabbed him and assaulted him as he got out of his car near his home. He said that the car the two men were riding in was a private one, and not the well-recognized GMC Suburban with the logo of the religious police on it.
| "The Suburban was in the shop, so we used Habib's car. It's got a killer stereo system..." |
He also said that he asked his wife to quickly run inside their building for her own protection, but that the men ran after her grabbing her abaya before she finally managed to get into one of the neighborsâ apartment after screaming for help. The man who filed a case at the police station is filing assault and abuse of authority charges against the religious police.
Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Ghaith, the head of the commission, said yesterday that all field members that work for the commission should wear their official nametags when on duty to enable the public to identify them. âWe as members of the commission must abide by the regulations and directives set by the leaders of the country because we are accountable to them and the public,â Sheikh Al-Ghaith said. âWe have rights. Citizens have rights. Residents have rights. And everyone should respect that rights.â
| Everyone has rights. Some people's rights are more respected than others. |
He said that sometimes people exaggerate stories about members of the commission, which are later proven to be false. Al-Ghaith did not deny however that there were shortcomings from some of the commissionâs members. âThe members of the commission are humans.
| "Some are subhumans, in fact..." |
"They are like anybody else who make mistakes,â he said. He said that if it was proved that a member of the commission was involved in any wrongdoing he would be punished at once. Al-Ghaith also said that by visibly displaying their nametags, members could differentiate themselves from other pious people who offer advice in public areas, but are not authorized to go beyond that. He said wearing a uniform by the members of the commission was not being considered because the official nametag would suffice.
| "Oh sure - we're pious! But we have badges, so we can beat the crap out of you too." |
Posted by: Pappy 2005-12-13 |
