Saudi Court Orders "Disclose Personal Information of Sexual Harassment Perpetrator"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyun-ui Cho] A Saudi Arabian court has ordered the disclosure of the identity of a man convicted of sexual harassment. This is the first time a Saudi court has issued such an order against a sexual harassment offender.

On the 11th (local time), the BBC reported, citing local media, that "the Saudi Medina Criminal Court ordered the disclosure of the name and age of Yasser Al-Arawi, who was tried for harassing a woman with obscene language." The court also sentenced the man to 8 months in prison and a fine of $1,330 (about 1.5 million KRW).

The Saudi court's order follows the Anti-Harassment Law revised last year. This law allows the publication of the offender's name and the judgment details in local newspapers.

Since 2018, Saudi Arabia has enforced the Anti-Harassment Law, which allows for a maximum sentence of 2 years imprisonment and a fine of $27,000 (about 32 million KRW) for defendants charged with sexual harassment. Repeat offenders can face up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $80,000 (about 95 million KRW).

However, the BBC reported that despite these legal measures, some Saudi women believe that authorities need to take stronger actions to eradicate sexual harassment and related offenses.

One woman told the BBC, "There is still a belief in online spaces that the victim is responsible for the (sexual harassment)," adding, "They argue that victims should be punished just like the perpetrators."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.