Two Saudi Arabian men have been arrested for offering free hugs to passers-by in the kingdom’s capital, Riyadh.
The Saudi religious police detained the two young men for indulging in exotic practices and offending public order, the BBC reports.
The ” Free Hugs Campaign” is a movement that aims to brighten up people’s lives by offering hugs to strangers.
Bandr al-Swed decided to start the campaign in Saudi Arabia, after seeing the same trend in many different countries. He posted a video of himself offering hugs to male stranger s on YouTube, where it has received nearly 1.5 million views, the report added.
According to the report, his video inspired the two young Saudis, Abdulrahman al-Khayyal and a friend, who were arrested by the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (CPVPV) for offering hugs, advertised on a placard, in one of Riyadh’s main shopping streets.
The two were asked to sign a pledge that they would not offer hugs again, the report added. (ANI)