3 arrested for attacking girl students

Dammam: Police in Al-Ahsa arrested three young men who harassed female students leaving school and assaulted one.

According to Eastern Province police spokesman Col. Ziad Al-Ruqaiti, the young men seen harassing and beating a 14-year-old girl on her way home from school in a social media clip were identified and arrested.

“They are aged 15, 16 and 18 years. The two minors were referred to the social observation shelter and the third was arrested and his case was referred to the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution,” Al-Ruqaiti was quoted as saying by a local publication.

The video, posted on Twitter, showed a young man getting out of a car while a number of female students passed by the vehicle on their way home from school. One of the girls tried to retaliate but the young man beat her up badly while his two mates tried to stop him.

Within hours of posting of the videoclip, there were over 1,500 re-tweets with all of them demanding the authorities take tough action.

The incident prompted calls to enact legislation making harassment a crime punishable with imprisonment.

A number of activists expressed dismay at the lack of an anti-harassment law, asserting that such behavior cannot be eradicated or reduced unless a clear-cut law exists to punish perpetrators.

Lawyer and legal adviser Sultan Al-Makhfi said: “Currently, punishment for such an offense is subject to the discretion of the judge. What has been circulated widely is a harassment of young girls after they left school. I personally think there is more to it than apparent.”

He said that there was often talk on the harassment issue but there was still no clear law to govern such cases. Punishments vary from one judge to another and include imprisonment or flogging or both.

“The usual procedure is that the person accused of harassment is referred to the investigation and prosecution authority to be charged and prosecuted accordingly. We hope that a system to criminalize harassment will be enacted. We appeal to the public to preserve decorum and maintain peace at all times,” he added.