Dhahran harassment incident sparks outrage

October 24, 2013

Dhahran_harassment

Jeddah/Dhahran, Oct 24: A group of young women were repeatedly harassed Tuesday by men at a Dhahran mall, triggering an angry wave of reaction across the country against it.

The two-minute video shows a group of five young women wearing black abayas and headscarves being harassed by a countless number of young men at the Mall of Dhahran.

The men were making funny moves at their victims and verbally abusing them during the terrifying and intimidating chase to the parking lot of the mall. One woman tried to fight back by kicking one of her attackers after he had grabbed her hands in an attempt to hold her tight.

He backed off. “You said you had a knife, show it to me,” the attacker said. “Don’t beat them. Stay away, it is my turn,” another attacker said as he prepared to join his accomplice in the physical and verbal attack.

Bystanders watched the entire episode in shock.

The women appeared defiant until they pulled together to run away in the parking a lot.

The Eastern Province police said on Wednesday that they are aware of the video and they would analyze it to identify the harassers, describing the incident as “inappropriate behavior.”

When identified, the harassers will be summoned and investigated by the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution, said Lt. Col. Zayad Al-Ruqaiti, spokesman of the Eastern Province Police. No official notification has been received from the women or the mall management, he said.

The chairman of the Eastern Province Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, Hai’a has contacted the governor of Alkhobar to arrest the harassers and take necessary legal actions, said Dibaikhi Al-Dibaikhi, spokesman of the Eastern Province Hai’a.

The Mall of Dhahran where the incident took place appeared to have loose security on Wednesday during a tour by Arab News, which might have let the incident go out of control at the mall exit gate. Mansor Al-Haqas, security manager at the mall, said "I didn’t see the video but the incident didn’t take place inside the mall.”

The incident, which was caught on video camera and went viral on social media websites over the past two days, has revived calls for taking street harassment seriously through enacting and enforcing strict law against harassers.

A Twitter hashtag for the incident has received an avalanche of public anger and contempt for this “ugly behavior of a group of scumbags,” said Ali Al-Dhab’an, calling on authorities to identify the harassers and bring them to justice.

There is an urgent need for clear-cut harassment laws like in any other country to ward off such unacceptable behaviors, said Saeed Al-Naji and Saleh Al-Ghamdi on their comments on the hashtag.

“It looks like education has failed to instill a sense of morality in these young men and there is a dire need now for strict harassment laws,” said an anonymous blogger. “In absence of the fear of Allah, self-esteem, and strict harassment laws, these young men found no deterrence,” said another one.

This incident is the first to spark public outrage after the 2005 harassment attack by four men on a group of women in Riyadh, which was caught on video as well. The men were identified and brought to justice. They received jail term sentences and lashes.

Saudi Arabia registered 2,797 harassment cases against women in 2012, involving 60 percent Saudi offenders and 40 percent foreigners living in the Kingdom, according to a media report published in August. Riyadh ranked first with 650 cases, followed by Jeddah with 250, the Eastern Province with 210, Makkah with 180, Madinah with 170, and other cases across the country.

Saudi lawyer Bayan Zahran said that there are no harassment laws set in stone in Saudi Arabia, but rather discretionary determined by the judge based on the case context.

“What we saw in the video is a group harassment and terror in front of everybody,” she said.

She urged any women experiencing any type of harassment to report it immediately to the police and get the support needed from their families and society. She called for tight security and monitoring of areas of large gatherings such as malls to prevent such incidents from occurrence.

Society should give women the confidence needed to protect themselves and develop their own personality in the face of danger, she added.

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News Network
April 5,2020

Ajman, Apr 5: A bakery worker in Ajman has been detained for spitting in the bread dough as he prepared bread at the bakery, police said.

The General Command of Ajman Police arrested the Asian worker in coordination with Ajman Municipality after investigators suggested that he intentionally spat in the dough while preparing bread at a bakery which is located in Ajman.

Lt. Col. Muhammad Mubarak Al-Ghafli, Director of Al-Jarf Al-Shamel Police Station, said a team from police had immediately gone to arrest the worker after receiving a report from the municipality confirming that the man spat in the bread dough.

Officials said a customer had filmed the Asian as he spat in the dough while preparing the bread at the bakery during the evening.

The customer then filed a complaint to the municipality with the supporting evidence of a video as the worker was doing the buzzer act.

Police said the man was taken for for psychological examination as he's being prepared to be referred to the public prosecution.

Meanwhile, the bakery has been shut down by the municipality for violating food hygiene and public health rules.

Lt. Col. Al-Ghafli has appealed to the public to report persons or any acts that could harm the health and safety of the public.

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Agencies
June 29,2020

Protests condemning the Israeli plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank are set to take place in the United States and Europe on the same day prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to begin the process.

The demonstrations will be held on Wednesday in Chicago, San Diego, Brooklyn, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Other Western cities will also witness similar protests, including Toronto, Madrid and Valencia.

Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, and American Muslims for Palestine are among the pro-Palestinian groups organizing the protests.

The Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, one of the organizers, urged "direct actions and popular mobilizations in [Palestinian] refugee camps, cities and villages," and professed "loyalty to the martyrs" on its call for the events.

Another group, Al-Awda or the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition, decried "72 years of genocide, ethnic cleansing and dispossession" of Palestinians.

It also tied their demonstrations to the protests against anti-black racism in the US and beyond.

"We demand the defunding and dismantling of US police alongside the defunding and dismantling of Zionist colonialism and racist Israeli apartheid," Al-Awda said on its website.

Netanyahu has set July 1 as the date for the start of cabinet discussions on the annexation plan.

He has been driven ahead by US President Donald Trump, who unveiled a “peace” plan for the Middle East in January that effectively sidelines the Palestinians altogether.

The plan, which Trump himself has described as the “deal of the century,” envisions Jerusalem al-Quds as “Israel’s undivided capital” and allows the Tel Aviv regime to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley. The plan also denies Palestinian refugees the right of return to their homeland, among other controversial terms.

The Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital.

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News Network
July 6,2020

Dubai, July 6: Even as the world’s one of the most sought after tourist destinations is gearing up to welcome foreign tourists from July 7, the authorities have taken necessary measures to prevent the spread of covid-19.

If the foreign tourists want to avoid self-isolation after landing in Dubai International Airport, they have to fetch covid-negative certificates from their home country. The certificate ought to have been issued up to 96 hours prior to the travel.

Those without a cvid-negative certificate, however, will need to undergo a PCR test on arrival at the Dubai airports and self-isolate until they receive their negative results.

"If passengers opt to take the PCR test on arrival in Dubai, they must self-isolate until test results are received. If the test result is negative, passengers can leave the hotel and enjoy the trip as normal. However, if the test result is positive, passengers are asked to follow the advice of the Dubai Health Authority and self-isolate," Emirates said in a statement.

Budget carrier flydubai said if a passenger tests positive for Covid-19, he/she would need to observe a 14-day quarantine. The airline also advised passengers to comply with all the precautionary Covid-19 measures in place in Dubai "including wearing a mask, observing social distancing and washing your hands regularly".

Tourists with Covid-19 symptoms

* If a traveller is suspected to have Covid-19 symptoms, Dubai Airports has the right to re-test to ensure the tourist is free of the virus

*It is mandatory for Covid-positive tourists to isolate themselves at an institutional facility provided by the government for 14 days at their own expense.

Other requirements

*Travel insurance: Tourists must have a travel insurance with Covid-19 cover or declare that they would bear the costs for treatment and isolation if required. "Bring an insurance certificate stating Covid-19 coverage to present at check-in," Emirates said.

*Visa: Referring to visa requirements, Emirates said: "Depending on your nationality you can get a visa on arrival, or you can apply for your visit visa from Dubai Immigration before you travel."

*Health Declaration Form: Tourists need to complete the form that states they are free from Covid-19 symptoms. This must be done before embarking.

*Tracing app: Tourists must download the Covid-19 DXB app and register details. "This is critically important since it facilitates easy coordination and communication with the health authorities if tourists experience Covid-19 symptoms," Dubai authorities had said earlier.

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