2 Men Arrested For Giving ‘Free Hugs’ In Saudi Arabia

Two men were
arrested by
religious state police in Saudi Arabia's capital of
Riyadh for giving "free hugs" to strangers
Wednesday.
The country's ultra-conservative police, tasked with
enforcing the government's Sharia law, arrested
the duo for engaging in "exotic practices" and
seized their "free hugs" banner, according to a
Huffington Post translation of Arabic language
newspaper Al Hayat.
One of the arrested, Abdulrahman al-Khayyal,
posted a tweet earlier that day saying he would
like to give free hugs in Tahliya, a bustling
shopping street. He then took to the streets with a
friend and a placard that read "free hugs," the
Independent reported. (The action is part of a
social movement in which strangers offer others
public embraces.)
After signing a pledge promising not to repeat the
act, the two men were released. However, al-
Khayyal told the Independent he would continue to
give out free hugs because he saw it as an act of
charity.
The outlet points out that the 21-year-old may
have been inspired by a viral YouTube video (see
below) that shows a man named Bandar al-Suwaid
giving free hugs to young men in the same area
the day before.
As the Agence France-Presse notes, not everyone
was moved by the concept: "Today it's one hug,
tomorrow it's a free kiss, and the next day it'll be
free s*x!" one person tweeted.