AL-JOUF: A court in the north-central city of Hail recently sentenced a middle-level official in the Islamic Affairs Department to 11 months in jail and 280 lashes for blackmailing a woman and her sisters.

The man was arrested during the Eid Al-Fitr holidays with the help of field officials from the Hail branch of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice following a complaint from the young woman.

She said the official had been blackmailing her to force her into a sexual relationship after she had some chance meetings. She said during these meetings he had photographed her.

The woman also complained that the man threatened to post her photos on the Internet if she did not submit to his desires. He also demanded she bring along her younger sisters in order to further satisfy his immoral desires, she added.

The source at the commission office said the man was arrested while leading the women to an apartment in the downtown area of Hail.