Saudi Arabia released a statement saying it will open an investigation into the virally shared videos on social media which show attacks by dozens of male security forces on an orphanage house hosting females in Khamis Mushait.
In the statement that was shared on Wednesday morning, Aseer province authorities said that after an order by Turki bin Talal Al Saud a probe will be opened into the videos that show brutal attacks by some forces on orphan women.
(Source)
In the videos and photos shared online, security forces are seen attacking women, who according to sources began a hunger strike against their living conditions in the orphanage, using tasers and sticks.
Furthermore, several hashtags accompanied the videos including"#ايتام_خميس_مشيط - Khamis Mushait orphans and #خميس_مشيط - Khamis Mushait". One of the videos shows three men knocking down a woman while another man comes and starts to attack her using his belt while other females were seen running to escape attacks by the forces.
#SaudiArabia : Videos of apparent abuse & beating of women at an orphanage ( social education house) in Khamis Mushait are prompting anger & outrage online, with some denouncing what they call brutality of security services #ايتام_خميس_مشيط #خميس_مشيط pic.twitter.com/w2XstPw28X
— sebastian usher (@sebusher) August 31, 2022
Another video shows an orphan woman trying to run but fails and falls on the ground before being dragged from her hand, attacked, and arrested while security forces were trying to ban people from taking videos as one of them was caught shouting: "This one is shooting us".
A campaign was launched as women's rights supporters decried the horrific photos and videos shared online criticizing the security forces for their treatment of orphan girls in Khamis Mushait calling the Saudi government for a full, fair investigation into the incident and the implementation of the strictest punishment toward the abusers.
