Blackmailers of women to be ‘named and shamed’

Three people found guilty of extorting money from women will have their names and photographs published in the media “in the next few days,” said Sheikh Abdullateef Al-Asheikh, the chief of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia).
Al-Asheikh said the three people were arrested for being involved in several cases of blackmailing women for money. He was speaking at a ceremony honoring Haia members who arrested the extortionists in Riyadh recently.
“The names and photographs of the guilty will be published in the media in the next few days,” said Al-Asheikh. All the people involved confessed to the crimes, he said.
He said the Haia arrested one of the guilty men in Al-Rawdha neighborhood. He had blackmailed a woman that he knew, and forced his way into her house.
On two occasions in one night, she had to take shelter on the roof with her children to escape from him. The situation had made her suicidal. When the man tried this a third time, she reported the matter to Haia members who arrested him.
“The other case involves a woman who sent some photographs to a young man who started blackmailing her. She then filed a complaint. When Haia members tried to arrest him, he began shooting at them but no one was hurt. The Haia found hashish and drugs on him. He was with other persons who fled the scene in their cars,” he said.
The third case, said Al-Asheikh, involved a man and his wife. “The wife helped her husband to befriend married and divorced women using various methods. The couple then obtained photographs of these women and blackmailed them. The man was arrested while demanding SR7,000 from a woman,” he said.
He said that Haia members only start tracking people once they are sure they are guilty. He said the commission also takes action against females involved in such cases, according to Islamic law. However, most judgments against these people are not harsh enough, he said.
Al-Asheikh said all creeds and religions ban this type of behavior, that are committed by people with “weak” personalities. “Our communities must unite against such practices, which can only lead to the destruction of the family.”
He said these perpetrators target “weak and helpless females for dirty ends.” He said women often assist male blackmailers to carry out their crimes.
Al-Asheikh said the Haia in Al-Murabba and Al-Musanadah are investigating four cases of extortion. It has a backlog of hundreds of such cases it cannot address because of the lack of resources.
He said some cases involve girls as young as 13 who have accounts on Twitter.