Saudis hold five religious police

Five members of the Saudi religious police, known as the mutawaeen, have been arrested accused of responsibility for the death of a man in custody.

The man died at a mutawaeen office in Tabuk, the Saudi authorities say.

Officials said the man had been questioned for allegedly associating with a woman who was not a relative.

It is the latest in a series of abuse allegations levelled against members of the religious police whose task is to enforce a strict Islamic moral code.

Many Saudis have accused the religious police, officially called the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, of being overzealous in the pursuit of their duties.

The man, who has not been named, died on Friday in the northern city.

Saudi press reports say police are also investigating the death of an Asian woman who fell from the fourth floor of a building that was stormed by mutawaeen last week.

A year ago, the government decreed that mutawaeen could not interrogate detained suspects, as they had previously done, but must immediately hand them over to regular police.