Khalid Al-Sulaiman
Okaz
A penal court sentenced an unnamed person to two years in prison and closed his beach resort after he was found guilty of violating public decorum and organizing gender-mixed parties.
Of course, the world knows the story and knows who the person is. Everyone has seen the video clips which are everywhere. However, the justice system does not defame criminals until after the final verdicts are given.
If you reviewed newspaper archives, you would not find one person accused of a crime who was ever named. This is regardless of whether they were ever finally convicted and sent to jail. This is the case with owners of gas stations, garages, barber shops and small restaurants. It would be hard to find one person who was ever mentioned in the media by name, even after he was finally convicted.
What is weird is the claim that this is being done to maintain the person’s reputation and that of his family and tribe. It is as if the society that this person is ruining through his criminal activities is less important. It seems that society has a duty to maintain the reputation of the family and tribe of a convicted criminal and even of the criminal himself. Only the Ministry of Commerce has the guts to announce punishment given to large and small companies guilty of violations. The ministry implements the law against anyone and everyone. It has removed the cover of fake immunity from the prestige that comes with wealth.