VZCZCXRO6361
PP RUEHDE
DE RUEHJI #0305 1081145
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 181145Z APR 06
FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9075
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1355
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1433
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 6425
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L JEDDAH 000305 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP; 
PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR TSOU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2016 
TAGS: PGOV SCUL SOCI CASC SA
SUBJECT: SAUDI ARABIA: SOP FOR QUESTIONING FEMALE CRIMINALS 
 
 
Classified By: Consul General Tatiana Gfoeller for reasons 1.4 (b) and 
(d). 
 
RULES FOR QUESTIONING WOMEN SUSPECTED OR ACCUSED OF A CRIME 
 
¶1. (C) A contact of AmConGen Jeddah reported that Saudi 
authorities utilize a unique and explicit set of procedures 
when questioning women who are suspected or accused of a 
crime in the Kingdom.  According to the source, a woman must 
be accompanied by a "Mahram", or male guardian, throughout 
the entire investigative process.  If the issue at hand is 
confidential, the Mahram must be put in an adjacent room with 
 
SIPDIS 
a window through which he can continue watching the woman. 
If no Mahram is available, a Sheikh and a member of the 
Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of 
Vice (Mutawah) must attend in his place.  Secondly, only 
investigators known for their "good manners and honesty" 
should handle criminal cases involving women.  When these 
investigators speak with the female suspects, they should use 
only direct and straightforward questions. 
 
¶2. (C) The Consulate's source also reported that when 
standard police operating procedures call for a physical 
search of a detainee, two women "known for their honesty" 
must perform the search on a female suspect and only in the 
presence of her Mahram.  When it is necessary to "smell" the 
woman for alcohol-related offenses, two female doctors or 
nurses must be involved and, again, only in the presence of 
the female detainee's Mahram.  Finally, the Consulate contact 
stated that a woman who is being taken out of jail for 
questioning must be accompanied by her Mahram or two 
"dependable" women. NOTE.  This source did not indicate how 
strictly this standard operating procedure is followed.  END 
NOTE. 
Gfoeller