Arrested for seeking female writer's autograph

The CNN story says that two Saudi male novelists have been detained for questioning for trying to get autograph of female writer at a book fair in Riyadh. Quoting local media reports, the report says, "According to the Saudi daily newspaper Al-Watan, Abdu Khal and Abdullah Thabet approached female writer Halima Muzfar when they were stopped by police."

Both men were held for questioning but not charged with any crime. They are demanding an apology from Saudi's Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the much feared commission made up of several thousand religious policemen. They have the power to enforce, amongst other things, dress codes, mandatory observance of prayer times and segregation of the sexes.

The report also says, "Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz announced in February a major Cabinet reshuffling in which many hardline conservatives, including the head of the commission, were dismissed and replaced with younger, more moderate members." These new appointments were welcomed in the Saudi Arabia media as progressive moves by their king, who took was installed in 2005 and is seen by many as a reformer.

CNN