Saudi TV sex bragger appeals jail, 1,000 lashes sentence

A Saudi man who boasted who was sentenced to five years in jail after boasting about his sex life on television has appealed his case.

Mazen Abdul Jawad, who was also ordered to receive 1,000 lashes after his appearance of the LBC show Bold Red Line last July, has appealed the convictions handed down by a criminal court on Sharia law-based charges relating to immoral behaviour.

Three friends who appeared on the show with him and who were given two-year terms have also made an appeal, Muhammad Amin Mirdad, the judge presiding over the case, said in comments published by Arab News on Sunday.

“We will carefully study their objections. If they are worthwhile, we will consider abrogating the verdict otherwise we will submit the entire case with the reasons on which we based our ruling to the Court of Cassation in Makkah,” he told the paper.

In July, Abdul Jawad appeared on an episode of Lebanon-based LBC television's racy show "Bold Red Line."

On the show, filmed in his Jeddah bachelor's apartment, he talked about picking up women and displayed sex aids and toys on camera.

The episode, viewed many times on YouTube, outraged many in the conservative Islamic kingdom and led to his arrest on July 31.

The paper also quoted Abdul Jawad’s lawyer Suleiman Al-Jimaie as claiming cthere were 32 procedural errors in the ruling.

“The verdict against my client was based on unacceptable evidence,” he told the paper.

He also said the court was acting out of its jurisdiction and that the Ministry of Information and Culture was the body assigned to look into media violations.