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Star Academy Winner Told to Leave Riyadh
 The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice detained "Star Academy 2" winner Hisham Abdul Rahman briefly and then put him on a plane back to Jeddah from Riyadh. Hisham was detained for what the commission called "sparking an indecent gathering" in the Kingdom Tower in the capital.Hisham, who had arrived in Riyadh to participate in a number of social events following his win in the Star Academy popular reality show, was surrounded by fans, both male and female, when he was just browsing the mall. The teen fans, on spying the young star, mobbed him and vied to shake his hand. Some even kissed him while congratulating him on his achievement. This proved the last straw for the members of the commission who were at the mall. They waded into the crowd and broke up the impromptu crowd that had gathered around Hisham. They then asked Hisham to leave the mall for creating the chaos and triggering "immoral" acts — as they called it. Hisham then entered into a slanging match with the members of the commission and also called them names. He even threatened to take action against them if they did not leave. An altercation ensued with the members of the commission trying to pull Hisham away from the milling crowd. The crowd then joined in and began pulling the new star toward them as a veritable tug-of-war took place, leaving Hisham's clothes in tatters. A member of the commission then managed to drag Hisham out and pushed him into their waiting van. He was then taken to the commission's center in Olaya where he was questioned and held under custody. The commission then received a direct order from an official in the Riyadh governor's office to immediately send the singer back to Jeddah. Hisham was then escorted by the commission's head to the airport and was put on the plane back to Jeddah. Bander Al-Mutairy, the head of the Commission's Center in Olaya, said that the case was over and the orders were direct and clear from the governor's office. Al-Mutairy, who refused to elaborate to Arab News, said that they had nothing personal against Hisham. But he violated a rule and created chaos in the Tower Mall and that had to be stopped. "I refuse to say more. We have everything under control and the governor is aware of what happened," Al-Mutairy said. Posted by: Fred 2005-04-22 |
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