Saudi law on online begging beefed up

Calls for financial help on social media constitute an offence punishable by a fine of SR50,000 or jail for six months in Saudi Arabia, a lawyer has warned.

“Pleas launched on social media is named electronic begging,” lawyer Sara Al Harbi told Saudi television Al Ekhbariya. She explained that Saudi law illegalises such pleas and considers them a sort of begging.

“The beggar and the one helping him/her faces the penalty of six-month imprisonment or a fine of 50,000 riyals. Fines double on repetition,” she added.