A Saudi prince was arrested after a video that appeared to show him assaulting a bloodied man stoked outrage online, Saudi police said, in a rare airing of public anger at a member of the powerful royal family.
The clip, apparently filmed by the attacker, shows a Yemeni driver berated for parking in front of the man's house and being forcibly grabbed by the collar and cursed at as blood drips down his mouth.
Saudi police reported that King Salman ordered the arrest of the junior Prince Saud bin Musa'id for assault to demonstrate that he would punish "any transgression or violation by a person no matter his station, condition or rank".
The announcement, made on Thursday on the state TV channel Ekhbariya's Twitter page, used the hashtag "A prince commits assault on citizens" which Saudis used to vent their ire.
Since 2012, social media storms in Saudi Arabia over government policies or the actions of senior officials have culminated in their sacking on at least five occasions.
But online campaigns seldom target the House of Saud, a family with thousands of members that founded the state nearly 300 years ago and attached their name to the kingdom.
A Saudi prince was executed last year after being convicted of shooting dead a fellow Saudi, a rare example of capital punishment for a royal.
A few royals have also fallen afoul of the law abroad.
A junior prince was charged with sexual assault in Los Angeles in 2015 and another prince was found guilty of murdering his servant at a luxury London hotel in 2010.
The kingdom brooks no dissent, but the furore over the prince was the second example in less than a week of online activism in the social media-savvy society sparking an arrest.
A snapchat clip of an unidentified Saudi woman wearing a short skirt and crop top provoked outrage among Twitter users in the conservative Muslim kingdom, leading to her arrest for "indecent" dress. She was later released.
Reuters
Thu Jul 20 2017
Saudi police reported that King Salman ordered the arrest of the junior Prince Saud bin Musa'id. -Filepix
10 Berita Pilihan - (18 Oktober 2024)
Antara pelbagai berita dalam dan luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Belanjawan 2025: Cuepacs seru penjawat awam tingkat komitmen perbaiki sistem penyampaian
Penjawat awam diharap memberi komitmen penuh dalam memastikan iltizam kerajaan untuk menambah baik sistem penyampaian perkhidmatan awam kepada rakyat, dapat dilaksanakan dengan berkesan.
Kadar gaji minimum RM1,700 beri manfaat bagi pekerja dan majikan
Peningkatan kadar gaji minimum adalah usaha kerajaan untuk memastikan kebajikan pekerja terutama mereka yang berpendapatan rendah lebih terjamin.
Messi tidak tolak kemungkinan beraksi di Piala Dunia 2026
Messi menekankan bahawa dia lebih fokus untuk mengekalkan prestasi terbaiknya berbanding risau tentang pencapaian masa depan.
Jumlah mangsa banjir di tiga negeri meningkat malam ini
Di Perak, jumlah mangsa yang berlindung di 12 PPS meningkat kepada 1,587 orang berbanding 1,459 orang petang tadi.
Consider This: Budget 2025 (Part 1) — Balancing Progress & Prudence?
Budget 2025 was tabled in Dewan Rakyat today, and now the crucial evaluation begins. Does #Belanjawan2025 successfully balance progress and prudence? On this episode of #ConsiderThis Melisa Idris speaks to Danial Rahman, CEO of Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (ASLI), and Doris Liew, Economist & Assistant Research Manager at IDEAS Malaysia's Public Finance Unit.
Dialog Anak Muda: Belanjawan 2025: Macam mana ok?
Rasionalisasi subsidi RON95, kadar baharu gaji minima dan pemerkasaan TVET antara tumpuan dalam pembentangan Belanjawan 2025. Analisis isu-isu ekonomi diteruskan dalam Dialog Anak Muda 8.30 malam ini.
AWANI Tonight: Belanjawan 2025: What are the hits and misses
Bait al-Amanah's Benedict Weerasena shares his thoughts on the hits and misses of Budget 2025, which sees an allocation of RM421 bil, a 3.3% increase from the previous year.
AWANI Tonight: Key highlights from Belanjawan 2025
Key highlights from Belanjawan 2025, which includes increased allocations for Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR), tax reliefs for first home buyers, and cash aid for singles, among other reforms.
PDRM pastikan insentif Belanjawan 2025 dimanfaatkan sepenuhnya - KPN
PDRM akan memastikan semua perkara yang diumumkan dalam Belanjawan 2025 untuk pasukan keselamatan itu, akan dimanfaatkan sepenuhnya.
Raja Salman namakan sidang kemuncak Arab ke-29 sebagai "Sidang Kemuncak Baitulmaqdis"
Ini bagi mengingatkan dunia bahawa Palestin sentiasa tersemat dalam hati nurai masyarakat Arab.
Lawatan ke Arab Saudi kukuhkan hubungan dua hala - PM Najib
Beliau turut menzahirkan ucapan terima kasih kepada Raja Salman atas layanan istimewa dan taraf Tetamu Negara yang diberikan kepada beliau serta seluruh anggota rombongan.