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A10 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 19 July 2017
Saudi woman in miniskirt video arrested after public outcry

By AYA BATRAWY contradicted the country’s with no one else around. to wear long, loose robes cent moves by Saudi Ara-
Associated Press conservative Islamic dress The short video, shot in a vil- known as abayas in pub- bia to modernize and loos-
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates code, state media report- lage in the desert region of lic. Most Saudi women also en some rules.
(AP) — A Saudi woman has ed Tuesday. Police referred Najd, where many of Saudi wear a headscarf and veil The country’s 31-year-old
been arrested for defying her case to the public pros- Arabia’s most conservative that covers the face. heir to the throne, Crown
the kingdom’s strict dress ecutor, according to the tribes and families are from, Social media is wildly pop- Prince Mohammed bin
code by walking around in official Twitter account of is followed by other shots of ular in Saudi Arabia as a Salman, has pushed for
a miniskirt and crop top in state-run TV channel al- her sitting in the desert. space to vent frustrations greater openings for en-
a video that sparked public Ekhbariya. The video sparked a Twit- and gauge public opinion. tertainment in part to ap-
outrage. In the video, which has ter hashtag that called for The outcry against the vid- pease the youth, who are
The woman, whose name gone viral since first emerg- her arrest, with many saying eo and the woman’s sub- active on social media and
was not given, was de- ing on Snapchat over the she flagrantly disobeyed sequent arrest reveal how can bypass government
tained by police in the weekend, the woman is Saudi rules, which require powerful and widespread censors online. More than
capital, Riyadh, for wearing filmed walking around a all women living in the king- conservative views are in half of Saudi Arabia’s pop-
“immodest clothes” that historic fort in a miniskirt dom, including foreigners, the kingdom, despite re- ulation is under 25.q
Iraqis hold suspected militants in cramped, stifling prison

By BRAM JANSSEN they’re not exposed to the “occasionally.” Another 2,800 prisoners are was not authorized to brief
SALAR SALIM sun,” he said. “The major- More than 1,150 detainees being held in the Qayara reporters.
Associated Press ity can’t walk. Their legs have passed through the air base south of Mosul, The Islamic State group
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — Hun- are swollen because they prison over the past three and hundreds more in a seized Mosul when it swept
dreds of suspected Islamic across northern and cen-
State members swept up tral Iraq in the summer of
by Iraqi forces in Mosul are 2014.
being held in a cramped As U.S.-backed Iraqi forces
and stifling prison just out- battled block by block to
side the city. retake the city, the mili-
Associated Press report- tants rounded up civilians
ers visiting the facility saw and used them as hu-
more than 100 prisoners man shields. Many fighters
packed into a dark room, also fled the city by hiding
lined up shoulder to shoul- among fleeing residents,
der on the floor. complicating efforts by
There was no electricity or Iraqi forces to separate the
ventilation, despite day- militants from civilians.
time temperatures well Prisoners who were dis-
over 110 degrees F (45 C). creetly interviewed by the
The Iraqi officer who over- AP insisted they were inno-
sees the facility said it cur- cent. They spoke on condi-
rently holds some 370 pris- tion of anonymity, fearing
oners. He says authorities reprisals.
were overwhelmed with “You won’t find 10 real (IS
detainees as Iraqi forces members) among these
cleared the last neighbor- guys.
hoods of the city earlier Suspected Islamic State members sit inside a small room in a prison south of Mosul, Tuesday, July And all of them have
this month at the end of a 18, 2017. Hundreds of suspected Islamic State members swept up by Iraqi forces in Mosul are be- spent more than six months
grueling nine-month cam- ing held in a cramped and stifling prison just outside the city. here,” one prisoner said out
paign. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen) of earshot of the guards.
“Prisoners are infected with can’t move.” He said a months, with 540 sent to few smaller facilities. The “Since I got here eight
diseases, lots of health and provincial health team Baghdad for further inves- officer spoke on condition months ago, I’ve only seen
skin problems, because checks on the prisoners tigation, the officer said. of anonymity because he the sun once.”q
Lebanon preparing for military operation near Syria border

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon is which is home to a large Relations between the ref- Lebanese residents as well between Hezbollah and
preparing a military op- number of Syrian refugees. ugees and the Lebanese as Syrian refugees in the the government on one
eration to secure a lawless The Lebanese military is ex- army are already strained area,” adding that “thou- side and Syrian rebels on
section of the border with pected to try and root out following a raid on June 30 sands of lives are on the the other drove a wave of
Syria, Prime Minister Saad militants from the Lebanese that resulted in the deten- line.” refugees into Arsal in 2013.
Hariri told parliament on side of the mountainous tion of 355 Syrians; four later The Syrian army and He- There could be as many as
Tuesday. frontier, retired Gen. Elias died in army custody. zbollah are expected to 80,000 refugees around Ar-
The leader of Lebanon’s Hanna told The Associated Hariri, an outspoken op- battle the militants on the sal today.
powerful militant group Press. ponent of Syrian President Syrian side of the frontier. Militants seized Arsal briefly
Hezbollah, Hassan Nasral- There will be concerns Bashar Assad, promised the Hezbollah has been a key in 2014, abducting several
lah, hinted in a speech last about civilian casualties if Lebanese military would Assad ally throughout the Lebanese servicemen be-
week that a joint operation the militants infiltrate Arsal, not coordinate with Syrian civil war. fore retreating back to the
was in the works with the which has a population of troops. The war in Syria has buf- mountains.
Lebanese and Syrian mili- 60,000, or draw the army Amnesty International feted Arsal since 2011, The army and Hezbollah
taries to expel Islamic State into battles inside the Syrian called on the Lebanese when the first refugees have kept the town under
and Al-Qaida-linked mili- refugee communities in the military and other parties to crossed over fleeing the restrictive guard since then.
tants from the Arsal region, area, said Hanna. “prioritize the protection of violence. A major battle q