Riyadh: A Jeddah court started legal proceedings against a Saudi young man, who has been accused of bragging about his sex life on a popular Arab television channel.
This was in line with the directives issued to the court by the Ministry of Justice to expedite the case filed by a number of citizens against 23-year-old Jeddah resident Mazen Abdul Jawad.
In an order addressed to Shaikh Abdullah Al Othaim, head of the Court of Summary Jurisdiction in Jeddah, the ministry asked to urgently examine the case.
Mazen Abdul Jawad, an employee of the national carrier - Saudi Arabian Airlines - was arrested for "exceeding all red lines" when he appeared last week on a show called "Red Line," on the Lebanese channel LBC, where he went into "graphic details about his sexual conquests."
On the programme, Jawad said he first had sex with a neighbour when he was 14, and he described in detail some of his later adventures.
In Saudi Arabia, which follows strict Shariah principles, pre-marital sex is illegal, and unrelated men and women are not allowed to mingle.
Meanwhile, Shaikh Abdullah Al Othaim told Al Madinah Arabic daily that the accused may be sentenced to capital punishment in case of his conviction.
"The crimes charged against the young man are of the gravest nature as they are equivalent to perversion, spreading adultery and speaking openly about vice," he said while noting that deterrent punitive measures would be taken against all those involved directly or indirectly in telecasting the program.
Shaikh Al Othaim gave indications that punitive action may be taken against those who appeared on television program together with Mazen and even the owner of the residential apartment to where the young man lured young women and girls for immoral traffic.
He said that the court virtually started legal proceedings against the young man following the complaints received from several citizens.
"The court will seek support of experts specialised in investigation of cyber crimes to know more about the bluetooth techniques, such as montage, used by the culprit in committing the crimes," he said. The judge did not rule out the possibility for taking legal action against LBC television.
Mazen Abdul Jawad was arrested after the filing of a petition by about 100 citizens at the Jeddah court alleging among other things, that the young man violated a principle of Shariah law by publicising his sinful behaviour.
Mazen explained how he uses the Bluetooth function on his cellphone to try to pick up Saudi women, who are forbidden to mix with or reveal their faces to men who are not related to them. He also gave a recipe for an aphrodisiac.
