Saudi teen arrested for flirting with American woman online

He could face a five-year prison sentence and be forced to pay a fine as high as $800,000

A young boy was arrested in Saudi Arabia after 'flirting' with an American girl on a video chat website, YouNow.

In the video, which attracted many viewers from around the world, the boy speaks to the American girl in broken English, telling her that he loves her. “I love you, too,” she replies, after which, he asks her, jokingly, to marry him. She tells him to wait, and draws a wedding band on her finger. “I want to marry you, too,” she says. “Yes, yes, thank you very much,” says the boy, who is nicknamed Abu Sin because of his crooked front teeth.

#Funny but No Human Rights in Saudi Arabia.

17 Yr TEENAGER ABU SIN ARRESTED FOR VIDEO CHAT with Christiana... https://t.co/coth455hQB

— Sunny 🇮🇳 (@sunny0_) October 3, 2016

Abu Sin, who according to the police is 19-years-old, was arrested last month for his “unethical behaviour,” according to Saudi media outlets. His exchanges with the 21-year-old Christina Crockett from California, according to lawyers, could violate the nation’s cybercrime law that bans creating online material that goes against morals and religious values, as well as its rigid interpretation of Islamic law.



“Abu Sin was jailed for violating decency and religious values,” Lt. Fawaz al-Miman, a police spokesperson in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, told the Al Arabiya news website. Miman told the Saudi Gazette newspaper that Abu Sin made “enticing videos" that “became famous” and negatively affected Saudi Arabia’s image in the world. He added that police had received requests from the Saudi public to have Abu Sin reprimanded.



One Saudi newspaper, Arab News, wrote that the teen deserved to be placed on trial because his video exchanges “made people laugh” at Saudi Arabians. Other commentators declared that Abu Sin’s chats were a reflection of how youth are being improperly raised in the kingdom.

Last week, Abu Sin was released on bail. As a result of his offence, he could face a five-year prison sentence and be forced to pay a fine as much as $800,000. On Sunday, Abu Sin released a new video, lasting about a minute, in which, he promised he would no longer use social media in way that would violate the kingdom’s moral and religious codes. He added that he “repented” for chatting with girls on the Internet.


This article originally appeared on Washington Post