350 Lashes For Having Wine Bottles In His Car.

[sergio]

They're not "tolerated" in Saudi Arabia. The guards have to be paid to tip off the residents when the mutawwas (the Islamic police) and the regular police are on their way for inspections. People in the compound I lived in had spare bathrooms where they stored their home-made alcohol and where they also dumped everything when the guards tipped them off. However, I was in Riyadh which is more strict than Jeddah, but Jeddah is still part of Saudi Arabia and the same council of Mutawwas sets the rules there as in Riyadh.

At the end of the day you need to know how to live in a hell hole, if you don't then you shouldn't bother living there.

It is very rare for police to enter a Western compound. This would be especially true at the ARAMCO compound, the world's largest oil company. Many Westerners make their own alcohol and are never bothered however transporting it outside the compound is risky. Incidentally, Catholic and Protestant services are held on a weekly or even more frequent basis on the ARAMCO compounds despite the fact that it is illegal. What I would like to know is EXACTLY what happened that this Brit got caught.

 

[nicoenarg]

It is very rare for police to enter a Western compound. This would be especially true at the ARAMCO compound, the world's largest oil company. Many Westerners make their own alcohol and are never bothered however transporting it outside the compound is risky. Incidentally, Catholic and Protestant services are held on a weekly or even more frequent basis on the ARAMCO compounds despite the fact that it is illegal. What I would like to know is EXACTLY what happened that this Brit got caught.

Your experience in Saudi Arabia is perhaps different to the experience I had when I lived there for over a decade. Besides ARAMCO is in Dhahran and is not the only compound in Saudi Arabia. I'm lost as to why ARAMCO is even part of the discussion here. The guy got caught transporting alcohol. He lived in Jeddah (which is not in Dhahran). And contrary to popular belief what happens in ARAMCO is not the universal rule applied to the rest of the Kingdom's compounds. I can't personally speak to ARAMCO, never lived there.

 

[sergio]

Your experience in Saudi Arabia is perhaps different to the experience I had when I lived there for over a decade. Besides ARAMCO is in Dhahran and is not the only compound in Saudi Arabia. I'm lost as to why ARAMCO is even part of the discussion here. The guy got caught transporting alcohol. He lived in Jeddah (which is not in Dhahran). And contrary to popular belief what happens in ARAMCO is not the universal rule applied to the rest of the Kingdom's compounds. I can't personally speak to ARAMCO, never lived there.

No, ARAMCO is not the only compound. It is the most protected one in the sense that expats are pretty pampered. ARAMCO entered the conversation because the British guy is in the oil business, so very likely ARAMCO. So what happened in Riyadh, did police enter compounds to search for alcohol? Did they monitor people in other ways, like sex life? There was a case of a bixsexual male British nurse a few years ago who was entrapped by the religious police and thrown in jail. I am not sure what part of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh? The British media speculated that it was a reaction to a Saudi prince who had been tried and sentenced to prison for killing his male servant/sex partner.

 

[nicoenarg]

No, ARAMCO is not the only compound. It is the most protected one in the sense that expats are pretty pampered. ARAMCO entered the conversation because the British guy is in the oil business, so very likely ARAMCO. So what happened in Riyadh, did police enter compounds to search for alcohol? Did they monitor people in other ways, like sex life? There was a case of a bixsexual male British nurse a few years ago who was entrapped by the religious police and thrown in jail. I am not sure what part of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh? The British media speculated that it was a reaction to a Saudi prince who had been tried and sentenced to prison for killing his male servant/sex partner.

We had regular visits (at least once a month) from both the mutawwas (Islamic police) and the shurta (regular police) to make sure everything was according to the rules of Shariah. Our compound being in the jurisdiction of the capital may have something to do with that (as opposed to Dhahran which is in the Eastern Province where they have a sizable anti-Mutawwa Shi'a population). I am not too sure about people being monitored for sex life, to be honest. It usually was a general inspection of "property", that you didn't possess anything they didn't want you to possess and they also made sure there was no interaction between the sexes that was forbidden by law (non married couples or non related men and women talking, etc). But this was only when they were around. There were no "civilian" police inside the compound on a permanent basis like in the rest of the city. Our guards were pretty "loyal" to the company so they never failed to inform us when the authorities were on their way.

This guy works (not anymore I'm sure) for an oil company which may very well be ARAMCO but ARAMCO does not have a large, protected compound in Jeddah as far as I'm aware but maybe that's changed.

The nurse that you're talking about, is that the guy who got arrested because of his "incriminating" Facebook posts? That was in Dammam (eastern province). But that was because of the authorities monitoring the internet for any "evil" actions that may bring "shame" upon the kingdom. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is one of those places that claim to have zero homosexual citizens...go figure.

Anyway, honestly, after having lived for 25 years in Saudi Arabia you would think this guy knew better. Unless you are part of the Saud family (the side that the current king likes), you should be careful, doesn't matter how many times you have been lucky before, your luck will run out. Best course of action is to forget high salaries and move to civilization.

 

[rrptownley]

Poor chap just wanted to get lashed.