UK man beaten by Saudi ‘moral’ police

A British man and his Saudi wife have been attacked by moral police in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, after using a women-only till at a supermarket.

Video footage emerged showing Peter Howarth-Lees being attacked by members of the so-called Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, also known as the Mutawa, outside the supermarket in Riyadh.

“While I was on the ground all three of them proceeded to kick me repeatedly in the head and back and then one of them stamped hard on my face,” said Howarth-Lees.

In the video, it could also be heard how Howarth-Lees, who is a convert to Islam and a longtime Saudi resident, shouted, “That’s my wife, how dare you,” when his spouse tried to defend him.

Howarth-Lees released a statement saying the incident began when he and his wife were directed to the female cashier before three men approached them and objected.

The men continued to harass the couple even though the cashier asserted that the customers were a family.

Under Saudi law only women are allowed to pay at female-only cash desks; however, a man accompanied by female family members can stop at such desks as long as a woman deals with the cashier.

According to eyewitnesses, the couple were followed by Mutawa members out to the parking lot, where the dispute continued, with Howarth-Lees being thrown to the ground when he tried to take a picture of the Mutawa members.

Howarth-Lees wanted pictures of the officers to file a complaint after one of the Mutawa members took photos of his car.

The couple then managed after the assault to lock themselves in their car and the moral police officers started pounding on their windows telling them to come out of the vehicle.

The incident ended when the British embassy was contacted and it dispatched a mission car that took the couple to their home.

CAH/AB/SS