The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia cracked “unethical actions”

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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has arrested more than 50 suspects of crimes, including prostitution and begging, after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the creation of a unit to “unethical actions” of the police, after years of alleviating hard -line social restrictions in the Kingdom.

The Ministry of Interior – established to address “community security and human trafficking” – arrested 11 women for prostitution, which is the first time Saudi authorities She has publicly recognized the existence of this practice more than a decade.

It also collected dozens of foreigners for “immoral acts” in the massage halls and to force women and children to work as beggars in the streets.

The initiative led to comparisons with the Committee for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of the MP, a religious police force that was notorious to enforce it with the cruelty of some of the parties of the separation between the sexes and moral symbols in the world before Prince Muhammad It was stripped of many of its powers in 2016.

Since then, the actual ruler prompted an aggressive agenda to diversify the economy and relax on strict social and religious norms, such as lifting the embargo on concerts and cinema. While the government announced the “general decency” law in 2019, it was not accurately applied.

Analysts said it is unclear what sparked a campaign. But Khalid Al-Sulaiman, a pillar writer in the semi-official OKaz Daily, wrote that the Community Security Unit has been prepared in response to the “remarkable activity” in alleged violations related to ethics and sex, including the announcement of such activities on social media platforms.

He wrote last month: “Our country has a special religious and social identity such as the hometown of Islam, and no one should distort the image of the Saudi society that has been established over the years as a society dominated by high -level moral and social values.”

“If such unethical and illegal practices are made in the past, those who practice them today will not feel that they can appear in public places without consequences.”

Some Saudi social media users have suggested that the Community Security Unit represents a return to the religious police, but “without a long beard.”

But the members of others welcomed this step. “The elimination of human trafficking is good,” said Bandar, a 36 -year -old father for three children who does not want to give his last name. “Let them clean the country.”

With the increase in new economic activities such as tourism and rapid social changes and the arrival of more foreign workers, the authorities found themselves dealing with a clear rise in drug And prostitution.

Although data is rare, anecdotal evidence has suggested that some visa restrictions and restrictions on women’s freedom have enabled sex trade.

The Ministry of Interior said last month that the unit will fight “crimes that violate personal rights, violate the basic freedoms guaranteed by Sharia law and the legal system of the Kingdom, or display individual dignity in any way.”

Analysts argue that providing unity as an effort to protect freedoms and rights can indicate that the government wants to anticipate cash from human rights groups and Western authorities.

“Usually, these ads are framing about security instead of human rights,” said Sultan Alamir, a colleague of the chief resident of the New Lines Institute in Washington.

The Kingdom is expected to receive increasing audit in the coming years as it is preparing to host major international events, including the 2034 FIFA World Cup, and seeks to attract foreign investment.