Harassment Law in Saudi Arabia: Punishment, Report and Proof

She received a voice message in the middle of the night from a former classmate, with explicit sexual content. A few minutes later he deleted it “for everyone” and wrote: “Sorry, it was meant for someone else, don't tell anyone.” All she has left is a notification on the screen and a quick screenshot she took before it was deleted. Is that enough for a report? And is this harassment at all, when he never came near her?

Yes. Words with a sexual meaning sent by phone count as harassment even without physical contact. The penalty for harassment in Saudi Arabia is up to two years in prison and a fine of up to SAR 100,000, or one of them, rising to five years and SAR 300,000 for repeat offences or aggravating circumstances. The screenshot and the notification are enough to start a report, and the competent authority will look for further evidence.

What counts as harassment under Saudi law?

Article 1 of the Anti-Harassment Law defines it as any words, act or gesture with a sexual meaning, by one person towards any other person, that touches their body or honour or offends their modesty, “by any means, including modern technology”.

So physical contact is not required. A message, a clip, a comment or a gesture in a public place may all fall within the definition, whether in the street, at work or by phone. On the other hand, not every annoying remark or heated dispute is harassment; the words or act must have a sexual meaning. So tell the competent authority what happened in detail and let it classify the incident, rather than choosing the label first and then trying to fit the facts to it.

What is the punishment for harassment in Saudi Arabia?

In all cases the court may impose both penalties or only one, and it decides the penalty within these limits. This is without prejudice to any other punishment under Islamic Sharia or any harsher penalty in another law.

The circumstances that raise the penalty under paragraph 2 of Article 6 are:

• The victim is a child or a person with special needs.
• The offender has direct or indirect authority over the victim, such as a manager or teacher.
• The crime takes place at a place of work, study, shelter or care.
• The offender and the victim are of the same sex.
• The victim is asleep, unconscious or in a similar state.
• The crime takes place during a crisis, disaster or accident.

One of these circumstances is enough. A third paragraph added in 1442H allows the judgment to order a summary to be published at the convicted person's expense in one or more local newspapers or any suitable means, depending on how serious the crime is and its effect on society, once the judgment is final. This is publication ordered by the court; it does not allow anyone to publish the accused person's name before judgment.

Anyone who incites, agrees to or helps harassment in any way receives the penalty for the crime itself, and anyone who attempts it without completing it is punished up to half of the maximum (Article 7).

How do you prove harassment if the messages were deleted?

Deletion does not make a report impossible. Keep what remains exactly as it is: the screenshot, the notification, the call log, the account name, number and link. Do not rewrite the message from memory and present it as the original; say clearly that it was deleted and what you still have.

• Write down immediately what you remember: the date, time, place, exact words and who was present.
• If the behaviour was repeated, separate each incident with its date; an organised record is stronger than a general description.
• Save the full chat, not only the offensive part; the context shows who sent it and the order of the conversation.
• If there were cameras at the place, tell the authority where they are and the time of the incident, and do not try to obtain the recordings yourself.
• Write down the names of those who witnessed it or whom you told at the time, and keep any medical document without sharing it outside the report.

A screenshot does not guarantee a conviction, and having no witness does not close the door. The strength of the evidence depends on whether it is genuine, whether it can be linked to the sender, and its context.

Where do you report harassment in Saudi Arabia?

File it with the criminal investigation authorities such as the police, which must accept and examine reports and complaints for all crimes and inform the Public Prosecution (Article 27 of the Law of Criminal Procedure). If there is an ongoing danger, call emergency services, do not confront the person alone, and do not try to force a confession from him before reporting.

Reporting is not limited to the victim. Article 3 allows anyone who learns of a case of harassment to report it to the competent authorities. Do not publish the messages or the person's name on social media; that may harm your case and expose you to another liability.

Harassment at work or at school

Article 5 requires government and private organisations to put in place measures to prevent harassment in the workplace, including an internal complaints mechanism, procedures to check complaints while keeping them confidential, and publishing these measures and informing staff about them. The organisation must take disciplinary action against any of its staff who violate the law.

Disciplinary action does not prevent the victim from complaining to the competent authorities (Article 5(3)). So the internal complaint and the official report are two independent paths, and you may use both.

A female employee receives messages with a sexual meaning from her direct manager.

She keeps the original chats and proof that he is her manager, and writes the sequence of events with dates.

His authority over her and the fact that it happened in a work context are aggravating circumstances, so the maximum rises to five years and SAR 300,000.

Does withdrawing the complaint end a harassment case? What about compensation?

Not necessarily. A waiver by the victim, or not filing a complaint, does not prevent the competent authorities from taking the action they see as serving the public interest (Article 3(1)). So a person who offers money for a waiver cannot guarantee the case will be closed, and you should not sign a settlement thinking it closes the whole case.

Article 4 requires everyone who learns of the information through their work to keep it confidential, and the victim's identity may not be disclosed except as far as evidence-gathering, investigation or trial requires. If your details are leaked by your employer or anyone else, that breaches this obligation.

You may claim your private right to compensation before the court hearing the criminal case at any stage (Article 147 of the Law of Criminal Procedure). Compensation includes moral harm caused by an attack on your body, honour or reputation (Article 138 of the Civil Transactions Law), and a compensation claim arising from a crime remains admissible as long as the criminal case is admissible (Article 143).

This is general information based on the official Arabic texts of Saudi laws, which prevail over any translation. It is not legal advice for your specific case.

Practical solutions for both sides

If you were harassed:

• Keep the messages, accounts and links as they are, and write down the details and witnesses while you remember them well.
• File the report with what you have, and separate in your account what you saw yourself from what you heard from others.
• Do not publish the person's name or the messages publicly, and do not confront him if that increases the danger.
• If it happened at work or school, also use the internal complaints mechanism and ask for your identity to be kept confidential.
• Claim your private right to compensation expressly if you were harmed; you are not required to waive it.

If the incident is attributed to you:

• Do not contact the person who reported or the witnesses, and do not pressure anyone to withdraw; this counts against you and does not stop the authorities from proceeding.
• Do not delete chats or change accounts, and do not ask anyone to delete them; keep anything that shows the context as it is.
• Present what disproves the incident or explains its circumstances through the investigation, and get a lawyer from the first summons.
• If the report was malicious, Article 7(3) punishes a malicious reporter with the penalty for the crime itself, but a report that is not proven is not, for that reason alone, malicious.

If you have been through a situation like this, on either side, send us the messages and details you have on WhatsApp, and we will arrange the next step with you confidentially.