Here we go again - "Religious police in Saudi Arabia arrest mother for sitting with a man"

From The Times "A 37-year-old American businesswoman and married mother of three is seeking justice after she was thrown in jail by Saudi Arabia's religious police for sitting with a male colleague at a Starbucks coffee shop in Riyadh.

Yara, who does not want her last name published for fear of retribution, was bruised and crying when she was freed from a day in prison after she was strip-searched, threatened and forced to sign false confessions by the Kingdom's “Mutaween” police."


How did she come to commit this heinous crime?
"Her ordeal began with a routine visit to the new Riyadh offices of her finance company, where she is a managing partner.

The electricity temporarily cut out, so Yara and her colleagues — who are all men — went to a nearby Starbucks to use its wireless internet.

She sat in a curtained booth with her business partner in the café's “family” area, the only seats where men and women are allowed to mix.

For Yara, it was a matter of convenience. But in Saudi Arabia, public contact between unrelated men and women is strictly prohibited.

“Some men came up to us with very long beards and white dresses. They asked ‘Why are you here together?'. I explained about the power being out in our office. They got very angry and told me what I was doing was a great sin,” recalled Yara, who wears an abaya and headscarf, like most Saudi women. "


How was this American citizen treated?

"Yara, whose parents are Jordanian and grew up in Salt Lake City, once believed that life in Saudi Arabia was becoming more liberal. But on Monday the religious police took her mobile phone, pushed her into a cab and drove her to Malaz prison in Riyadh. She was interrogated, strip-searched and forced to sign and fingerprint a series of confessions pleading guilty to her “crime”.

“They took me into a filthy bathroom, full of water and dirt. They made me take off my clothes and squat and they threw my clothes in this slush and made me put them back on,” she said. Eventually she was taken before a judge.

“He said 'You are sinful and you are going to burn in hell'. I told him I was sorry. I was very submissive. I had given up. I felt hopeless,” she said. "


And how did the US Embassy protect her and act on her behalf?

"Yara was visited yesterday by officials from the American Embassy, who promised they would file a report.

An embassy official told The Times that it was being treated as “an internal Saudi matter” and refused to comment on her case."



I went to the "Comments" section expecting to read some indignation but the last three comments surprised me:

"As an American, raised by a single mother in this country, this story obviously gave me a repulsive knee jerk reaction. After a second of thought, however, I realized that I have no idea what Yara's actions must have been interpreted as by the locals there in Saudi Arabia.

Their culture says men and women, unrelated, should not mix in public. Although I don't agree with that, if I go there, I must educate myself about this custom, and compy with it while I am there. Else, I subject myself to the consequences. In the U.S., a power outage at your office could easily be circumvented by heading to a Starbucks with your mixed-gender colleagues. In Saudi Arabia, however, it seems a better solution would be to head to a private, more liberal thinking residence to complete the days work. Indeed, the Amsterdamian smoking a joint in Washington is a good example, by the commentor above.

Before you take a step, you might want to look at the ground on which your foot will tread.

Joey, Conway, USA/MA"


How come we have to respect their culture and customs when we are in their country but we have to allow Sharia law in our country because it could help social cohesion?



"The Americans always think they are 'right', they use think only the western customs are legitimate and only these are civilized behavious, but in fact they are wrong, they are just stronger than the other countries. Think of this, what if Saudi Arabia was the most powerful country in the world like the US, people will think this is completely right and also there will think what the American woman had done was completely illegal and she should be punished. If you want to criticize other people, you must respect the tradition and thinking of other people.
Ridiculous! The Americans always advocate the so-called 'human rights', remember one thing, when the students were taking their manifestation in the University of Kentfor the purpose of ending the war in Vietnam, four young Americans were killed by the police. These lovely kids were killed by their own govrenment . So, Americans, have you the got the right to critize on the issue of HUMAN RIGHTS??? Yara, take your time in Saudi

foreigner, Shanghai, CHINA

We wouldnt have so much trouble in the middle east if we werent allways over there sticking our noses in their business. People always like to say "those people have been fighting each other forever" but the truth is they have been fighting outsiders forever because they have stuff we want. Thats why we need to develop alternative fuel sources. Of course then there is still the matter of Israel?

KJ, DC,"


There are some really odd people out there.




Do remember this case the next time one of our "leaders" is photographed with a member of the Saudi Royal Family or we are told that Saudi Arabia is an important trading partner and a force against Islamic terrorism. Do read up on the Saudi regime, there are plenty of articles to be found.