Saudi religious cop chief moved after raid

A senior officer in Saudi Arabia’s religious police was suspended and moved to another city following a raid on a local mixed-gender poetry concert.

Newspapers said the head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in the Western Saudi city of Taif was suspected and moved to the nearby Makkah town just a few days after the raid.

‘Sada’ daily said several Commission members stormed the Taif Cultural Club and clashed with its manager and other club officials for allowing gender-mixing at the concert which included poem recitation by two local poets.

Gender-mixing is banned in public places in Saudi Arabia, where the religious cops have been under fire for their harsh dealing with the public.