An actor from Saudi Arabia has been arrested in a shopping mall after ‘ taking selfies with female fans’.
Abdul Aziz Al Kassar, who lives in Kuwait, was arrested at a busy shopping centre in Riyadh, in the conservative Gulf kingdom, after being overwhelmed with screaming women all desperately trying to pose for a photograph.
The incident occurred on October 23 when members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice pulled him into a small room after he was mobbed by fans.
He was accused of disturbing the public order, mixing with women unrelated to him and abusing social media before being remanded in custody.
Speaking to Saudi news site Al Marsad yesterday, Al Kassar said: “I did not expect to find so many people waiting for me [at the mall].”
“I want to clarify that the presence of young women at the mall was not something under my control,” he said.
“When I stepped in, several fans came over and surrounded me until someone came over and pulled me aside into a room.”
“I learned I was reserved for the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice inside the mall,” he continued.
“I understood that the man who pulled me was a member of the Commission – and I did not resist him out of my respect for the Commission.”
In his statement, he also said the mall security staff should have warned him about the presence of a large number of fans.
“They did not tell me to stay away and that not meeting them was better,” he said.
“They initially took away my mobile, but returned it to me [later],” he added.
Al Kassar was later released on bail.
The investigation is ongoing as the Commission has accused him of using social media to meet women and take pictures with them inside the mall.
