Saudi sex cops arrest man who took sick elderly woman to hospital

The Scotsman:

A NIGERIAN convert to Islam who took his sick neighbour to hospital has been jailed in Saudi Arabia because he was not related to the elderly woman.

Ibrahim Mohammad Lawal was convicted of immoral behaviour by religious police who enforce the state's strict code banning women from mixing with men other than relatives.

His "charitable act... has landed him 50 days and counting behind bars", Arab News, an English language daily, said.

The religious force has faced rare criticism and unprecedented legal action in recent months following the deaths of two men in its custody.

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Lawal, an Islamic studies student in Riyadh, took his 63-year-old neighbour to hospital after discovering she needed medical attention. When she returned home he wanted to check on her progress and was admitted to her apartment where she was with three female relatives.

Five members of the force, the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, barged in and took him into custody, he said.

"They accused me of being alone with the woman unrelated to me and suspected my intention," Lawal said. "I wanted to do a good thing for a woman who was sick and this is what I get. I'm languishing in prison."

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The Saudis need to do something about these power mad perverts. They are making the whole country look ridiculous. What kind of religion punishes a man for looking in on a sick neighbor? A pretty sick one in my opinion.