http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/07/front2454158.070138889.html
Saudis move to check excesses of religious police SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM Monday, February 26, 2007 ABU DHABI � Saudi Arabia's king has responded to criticism of the nation's powerful religious police by moving to limit its authority. The religious police have been authorized to detain people behaving in a way deemed inconsistent with Islam. Officers have arrested married couples for holding hands or walking together in the street or shopping mall. Officials said King Abdullah has imposed limitations on the authority of the religious police, entitled the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Saudi Arabia. They said Abdullah has ordered the religious police not to enter government buildings or private businesses without their approval, Middle East Newsline reported. "They will not have the final word," an official said. The commission has issued a directive to the 5,000-member religious police that ban officers from entering government offices or businesses without authorization. Officials said coordination with these institutions was required even when they were believed to be harboring suspected law-breakers. Commission deputy chief Ibrahim Bin Suleiman Al Howaimel said violations by religious police officers would be investigated. Al Howaimel did not rule out punishment for officers who fail to abide by the new restrictions. "If a mistake is reported, the member will be questioned and penalized for the wrongdoing," Al Howaimel said. The regulations came in wake of criticism of the religious police. At one point, the government was examining a proposal to merge the religious police into other security agencies. +++ ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Yahoo! Groups gets a make over. See the new email design. http://us.click.yahoo.com/hOt0.A/lOaOAA/yQLSAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
