Saudi says no plans for cinemas

Saudi Arabia denied plans it would enact laws to allow the operation of cinema houses in the conservative Gulf Kingdom, newspapers reported on Tuesday.

The state General Commission for Audiovisual Media said it was reacting to social network news that the government would soon announce the introduction of new laws permitting cinema houses in the country.

“These reports are incorrect and baseless. Those persons quoted in such reports have no official representation,” it said in a statement carried by the local press.

Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab country, is the only Gulf nation that does not have cinema houses and still enforces laws banning gender-mixing in public places.

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