Saudi religious police told not to arrest women drivers

The Gulf News is one of several media that reported this story on September 19, 2013. The story is pasted below and a link to the story is here.

Dubai: Members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Saudi Arabia have been told not to arrest women driving cars.

“There is no law or specific text that allows the Commission members to do it,” a source at the religious organisation said, the London-based Saudi daily Al Hayat reported.

“The arrest of women driving cars is within the powers and jurisdiction of the security authorities. The Commission for the promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice applies the rules of the state and cannot go beyond them.”

The Commission members have been told not to interpret cases or commit offenses related to the prosecution of women on charges of driving, the source said.