A British businessman who brought stand-up comedy to Saudi Arabia has been beaten by the country’s religious police while shopping with his wife.
Peter Howarth-Lees and his Saudi-born wife, Abeer al-Fouti, were repeatedly punched and kicked after he had tried to pay a female cashier at a supermarket in Riyadh.
Three members of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, or Haia, had confronted him, accusing him of breaking the kingdom’s rules by using a female cashier while not part of a family group.
Although Mr Howarth-Lees and the staff explained that he was with his wife, the row continued into the car park of the supermarket, which is in an upmarket neighbourhood of the capital.
Mr Howarth-Lees and Ms al-Fouti were repeatedly punched and kicked by the three members of Haia, which is notorious for its scrutiny of Saudis’ private lives. He was also stamped upon.
Advertisement
A passer-by also attacked them during the assault, part of which was recorded and posted on the internet. The video captures Ms al-Fouti slapping her attackers and Mr Howarth-Lees shouting: “Get off my wife. That’s my wife. How dare you.”
They managed to lock themselves in their car while the men banged on the windows. They first called local police, who declined to help. It was only when guards from the British Embassy arrived that the couple were escorted home.
Mr Howarth-Lees, a 53-year-old father-of-three who moved to Saudi Arabia from his native Wigan 17 years ago, told The Times that they had since received an apology from Haia, whose members patrol the streets stopping couples to check that they are related, and had been told that the three men had been “administratively punished”.
“Harassment of people by Haia has been on the wane for some time,” he said. “I do not think society as a whole is ready for it to be disbanded but within a generation it will be.”
Mr Howarth-Lees, a Muslim convert who also runs an estate agent and whose company was the first to organise stand-up comedy in the country, said that although Haia had opposed his shows, there was not a link with Friday’s incident.
Advertisement
He added that the couple had considered leaving Saudi Arabia after the incident. “My wife said we should live in Dubai and run our business from there,” he said. “But why should we leave this country that is our home.”