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Riyadh: The Interior Ministry has said it is taking measures to restrict the powers of the agency that runs the muttawa, a force resented by many Saudis for interfering in their personal lives. In a decree carried by the official Saudi Press Agency late on Wednesday, Interior Minister Prince Nayef said members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, or the muttawa , can still make arrests in cases like the harassment of women but probes will now be carried out by the public prosecutors. "The role of the Commission ... ends with the arrest of the suspect or suspects," said the decree, sent to provincial governors across the kingdom.
"After they're handed over to police, they [suspects] will be referred to the Commission for Investigation and Prosecution." The morality squad has long enjoyed wide and unchallenged powers and its members roam public places, such as malls, markets and universities.
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