Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat – The Saudi Interior Ministry has issued a warning against false members of the Commission for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. The ministry has issued a decree that states that detainees can only be transferred to police stations and asserted that the role of the Commission ends at this point.

Saudi newspaper Al Jazirah reported that the circular issued by the Saudi Interior Ministry criminalizes anybody who violates the aforementioned rule or forces detainees to confess under duress or promises to cover up for others.

The chairman of the Bureau for Investigation and Public Prosecution will carry out random visits to the Commission centers to ensure that detainees are not being held there and subjected to interrogation. The results of the inspection will be handed to the relevant authorities in accordance to Article 25 of the Saudi Penal Code.

The circular stressed the importance of exerting as much effort as possible to guarantee observance to it.

It is worth mentioning that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz has issued a number of circulars in this regard. The royal decree states that the role of the Commission for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice ends upon arrest and the transfer of detainees to police stations.