RIYADH (AFP, AlArabiya.net)
A Saudi court on Monday acquitted three members of the kingdom's vice police and a policeman over the death of a man in their custody -- one of three controversial cases of in-custody deaths involving the force, which is responsible for upholding moral values in the kingdom.
The three members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and the policeman were cleared of causing the death of Ahmad Bulawi in the northwestern city of Tabuk in May, the source said.
The ruling was based on medical reports, including an autopsy, and interrogation by the prosecutors.
But Odeh Bulawi, a lawyer for the dead man's family, said he would appeal the verdict of the Tabuk court.
Ahmad Bulawi, 50, died while being held for questioning in one of the offices of the religious police, commonly known as Muttawa, for allegedly associating with a woman who was not a relative.
A member of the force has been accused of causing the death of another man in custody in Riyadh, and the Commission also faced investigation in the Mecca region after an Asian woman fell to her death from the fourth floor of a building that was stormed by police in May.
The interior ministry issued a decree in May 2006 requiring that the Commission does not interrogate detained suspects, but hands them over to the regular police.
Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdel Aziz defended the vice squad earlier this month, saying journalists had exaggerated recent abuse allegations, and that it was unfair to hold the entire commission responsible for the mistakes of some of its members.
The Commission is a government body whose mission is to uphold moral values and social discipline in accordance with the kingdom's Islamic values.
Members act in cooperation with the regular police force to make arrests and conduct investigations.
A 2006 report by Saudi's Shura Council Committee for Islamic, Judicial and Human Rights Affairs noted that the Commission had conducted thousands of raids related to beliefs, worship, morality, narcotics, literature, commercial establishments, alcohol and others, Saudi English daily Arab News reported.
The requirement for the Commission fulfills one of the pillars of Islam. The force operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior. |
