Saudi man 'faces death' over TV sex boast
A Saudi Arabian man could face the death penalty for speaking about his sexual adventures on a talk show aired by a Lebanon-based television network, lawyers said.
Published: 6:00PM BST 02 Aug 2009
Police arrested Mazen Abdul-Jawad, 32, for "publicising vice", a police spokesman in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah said.
The arrest came after 200 Saudi viewers filed complaints following his appearance on a tabloid talk show aired by the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation.
Abdul-Jawad spoke openly of his sexual experiences on the talk show, "In Bold Red" last month. Like many Arab countries Saudi Arabia prohibits sexual content on television, newspapers, magazines and books.
The divorced father of four children, filmed at his Jeddah apartment, said at the time that he first had sex at the age of 14 with a neighbour and displayed items related to his sex life including a sex guide which he said: "Has been very useful".
He led the television camera to his bedroom saying: "My friends always say that whoever enters this room has to personally bear responsibility ... I spend most of my life in this bedroom ... everything happens in this room".
Analysts expect the case of Abdul-Jawad to give fresh momentum to clerics' calls for strict curbs.
In an article published on Saturday, al-Watan newspaper, known for being a tribune for reformists, strongly criticised Abdul-Jawad's remarks and the Lebanese channel for airing them.
