17 held for ‘debauchery party’ in Saudi Arabia

Saudi security authorities are investigating 17 men and women mainly from African countries after they were arrested in a raid on a mixed party held near the western city of Makkah.

The party was held to celebrate the release of one of the young women from prison and around 60 guests were attending when the raid was conducted.

More than 40 were able to escape during the predawn raid and the police have launched a massive manhunt to find them and bring them to justice, local news site Sabq reported on Monday.

The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice had been reportedly tipped off by a Saudi man who noticed a large number of young people going inside a recreational area in the suburbs of Makkah, known as the Sacred Capital in Saudi Arabia.

The man added that the loud noise and the foul smell coming out of the area made him suspect something untoward was happening there.

When members of the commission arrived at the site, they took down all the numbers of the car licence plates before raiding the area.

Discovering there were about 60 revellers that some of them were in “compromising positions”, they called police patrols to attend. Most of the young men and women managed to flee to the neighbouring hills and only 17 were arrested.

Initial investigations revealed that the guests were celebrating the release of a friend from prison.

Alcohol and the mixing of unrelated men and women are strictly prohibited in Saudi Arabia.