A Riyadh-Based Man Has Been Arrested After A Video Of Him Hitting His Baby Went Viral
A video of a man hitting his baby went viral on Saudi Twitter earlier this week with people demanding that strict actions be taken against him.
The man was seen attempting to force his baby daughter to stand up and slapping her multiple times when she wasn’t able to
The man was identified as a Palestinian resident in Riyadh and authorities began an investigation immediately.
tag @UN @UNICEF NOW!We need this disgusting man to get immediate punishment &public torture for what he has done to his innocent child!help me get intense media attention & international pressure on this man & the Saudi government to take action on him now,not just investigate! pic.twitter.com/9rZ3pvITLO
— Nora Fatehi (@Norafatehi) September 22, 2019
The man also released an apology video, claiming the video was shot “a long time ago” as he pleaded for forgiveness. He stated his wife left him with their four children, which led to his so-called “break down.”
معنف الطفله يعتذر من الناس والنائب العام ويعلن توبته،
ويبرر ان ام الطفله استخدمت المقطع لاغراض كيديه وانه كان يمر بحاله صعبه،
ياعزيزي
هذا لايغفر لك خطيئك ان تعذب طفل لايستطيع الحبو على شان يوقف،
على كل حال امرك عند النائب العام pic.twitter.com/tZxbS5PpDS— رواف ابن السعين (@rwoafalsoain) September 21, 2019
The video also featured the daughter, a few months older than in the original video.
A spokesperson for the Saudi Ministry of Labor and Social Development tweeted about the incident, confirming that the Violence Reporting Center had been looking into the video and coordinating with authorities to identify the man.
Social media confirms that he has since been arrested.