Al-Riyadh added, “This new update in the case came about after a search team from the Saudi Ministry of Labor and Social Development, based in Jeddah, went to the institution where the filming violation happened”.
The newspaper added that several punishments would apply to the owner of the hotel, for “not abiding with the rules on employing females”.
Finally, the prosecution will try the couple for the “cybercrime” of “filming a video that insults society, as well as describing society in an indecent manner, and breaking general conduct”.
On Sunday, the Egyptian who filmed the video was arrested by Jeddah police, while the woman could not be located. Following the arrest, the prosecution’s Twitter account posted, “the Kingdom’s residents must abide by all religious laws of the Kingdom, and respect Saudi society’s values and feelings.”
A video was widely circulated on social media since Sunday, depicting an Egyptian man having breakfast with a Saudi woman in a public place.
The footage shared on social media showed the pair enjoying breakfast together, waving, and smiling, with the woman feeding the man directly at one point.
Saudi Arabia is known for its particularly conservative interpretation of Islam, where colleagues of opposite sexes meeting in a public place is considered unacceptable.
While the country has implemented more liberal rulings through Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman – such as permission to build its first cinema and theater – the country still enforces gender separation, and does not guarantee women identical treatment to men. Females in Saudi Arabia were not allowed to drive until September 2017, when the ban was lifted. The first Saudi women got their licenses in June 2018.
