An actor mobbed by women desperate to take a selfies with him when he dropped into a Saudi Arabian shopping mall was arrested for 'mixing with women unrelated to him'.
Abdul Aziz Al Kassar, who lives in Kuwait, was arrested by officers working for the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice on Friday evening during a visit to the capital Riyadh.
The Saudi star was then taken to the officer's headquarters, where he was charged with violating the strict Muslim country's laws by mingling and taking photographs with women he is not related to.
The shocking moment Al Kassar was pulled from the midst of the gaggle of black burkha clad women by a man wearing a white robe, a member of the muttawa, who enforce Sharia law, was captured on film and uploaded to YouTube.
Al Kassar has since been released, and has appeared on Saudi television to give his side of the story.
He revealed to Gulf Rotana television how he had asked his followers on Snapchat which was the best mall to visit, before telling them he planned to make the trip on Friday.
'However, I did not expect to find so many people waiting for me,' Gulf News reported him adding.
'I want to clarify that the presence of young women at the mall was not something under my control.'
Al Kassar argued he should have been warned by the owners of the shopping centre before he arrived so the situation could have been avoided.
The actor is now on bail, awaiting the outcome of the investigation. Until it is complete, he will have to remain in Saudi Arabia.
Al Kassar is not the only person to fall foul of Saudi's strict laws: this month it was revealed that British grandfather Karl Andree, 74, had spent a year behind bars and faced 350 lashes after being caught with homemade wine.
There are also others facing far worse sentences for breaking the rules, including blogger Raif Badawi, sentenced to 10 years and 1,000 lashes by the regime.
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