The preliminary investigation into the death of Sulaiman Al-Huraisi, a Saudi who died in the custody of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice after members raided his house three weeks ago, is over. Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Ghaith, president of the commission, said: “The investigation is over in its initial stage. The Governorate of Riyadh will announce the details of the full investigation soon.”On May 27, four days after the raid, authorities in the Governorate of Riyadh ordered that all members involved in the case be arrested until the investigation had been completed. Some 14 members of the virtue commission were arrested along with 11 members of the deceased’s family who were in the house when the raid took place. Police officers who took part in the raid were also detained for questioning, according to the governorate. An earlier statement from the governorate said that large quantities of alcohol and narcotics were found in the dead man’s apartment.
The father of the deceased has accused commission members of beating his son to death. The details of the investigation will also include the results of the autopsy as well as a medical report specifying the cause of death.
If Al-HuraisiÂ’s death is found to be accidental, blood money will be paid to his family. If commission members are found to have been at fault, they will be tried in a religious court.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Al-Ghaith hinted that some of the commission members may possibly have acted in self-defense when Al-Huraisi was being apprehended. “People who deal in drugs and alcohol do not usually surrender easily. In most cases there is a struggle,” he said. He added: “Commission members must be wise and lenient whenever they can but there are situations which oblige them to act in self-defense. Is it logical that a person surrendering would be harmed? That is not rational.”
He said that it was not the responsibility of commission members to detain suspects who deal in narcotics or drugs unless the suspects had been detained for other reasons and were then found to possess drugs. “That would be the sole responsibility of the department for combating drugs,” he added.
He denied that any head of a commission center anywhere in the Kingdom or any commission member had been fired since the time the investigation began. “None of that has taken place,” he said. Al-Ghaith said he was hopeful that some of the commission members who were still in custody would be released soon.