‘Gay parties’ broken up by police raids in Saudi Arabia
Two “gay parties” have been broken up by police raids in Saudi Arabia, according to local reports.
According to Sabq news, several men were arrested in two dawn raids on the parties in the city of Jeddah.
The reports said that number plates of nearby cars were recorded before police and members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice stormed the premises.
The local reports said the people arrested were “mostly gays”, but that others were those drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana.
“The raids led to the arrest of several people, mainly gays, and netted locally produced alcoholic drinks and hashish,” sources said.
“Those who were arrested were referred to a police station while those who fled the premises will be summoned since they were all identified.”
Gay men can face the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.
Natalie Bennett earlier this year attacked the UK’s “disgraceful” relationship with the country.
A gay man in Saudi Arabia was last year jailed for three years, for engaging in ‘immoral acts’ by taking naked photos of himself.