Syrian Twitter pimp busted in Saudi

Somewhat doubtful that this particular brand of effectiveness was on the “Top Ten Uses for Twitter” list, Saudi Arabia’s religious police picked up a Syrian man found to be involved in “straight pimping” on his Twitter page, as reported by the Sada newspaper on Monday.

After being tracked down by Members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the man was seized at his apartment in Jeddah after posting photographs of women in “obscene” positions, said Commission sources.

“He posed as a man who is seeking friendship and was publishing pictures of women in obscene positions claiming they are his relatives,” it said.

“He managed to attract a large number of customers. Police searching his flat found obscene pictures and films, sexual items and large sums of money.”

Saudi has been on the Twitter scene in other arenas as well. In a country where public resistance is frowned upon, the social networking  tool has its ups and downs.

In one instance, a Twitter user was forced to marry someone after a joke gone badly. In another, case, women have used their Tweets to engage others for activists purposes.