Saudi Arabian teenage YouTube star arrested over 'enticing' videos with female American blogger 'repents'

Police claimed the videos of Abu Sin and Christina Crockett were 'enciting' and invited 'negative attention'

Samuel Osborne
Tuesday 11 October 2016 15:03 BST
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Saudi Arabia arrests teenage YouTube star over 'enticing' videos with female American blogger

The Suadi Arabian teenage boy who was arrested on charges of "unethical behaviour" after appearing in video chats with an American vlogger says he has "repented".

Police claimed the videos of Abu Sin and Christina Crockett, who lives in California, were "enticing" and invited "negative attention" from viewers across the world.

They were originally shown live on the social streaming site YouNow but received hundreds of thousands of views when they were broadcast on YouTube.

Abu Sin's arrest was accidentally broadcast live when police pulled up behind his car as he was chatting to a YouNow user from Kuwait. He was released from prison after 10 days.

In a new video, lasting less than a minute, the 19-year-old boy said he has now "repented".

He also vowed he would no longer use social media in a way that could violate general decency, according to a translation by Al Arabiya.

The humorous videos show Abu Sin - whose nickname translates as "toothless" - and Christina, 21, chatting to each other from their homes in Saudi Arabia and California.

They battle language differences and jokingly declare their love for each other.

In another video, Abu Sin dons a traditional Saudi headdress and sings a traditional song to Christina, before asking her to marry him.

Authorities said the boy was 19-years-old, though he looks considerably younger in the footage.

In one video, he tells Christina he is 20, before she replies sceptically: "But you're only 13."

Colonel Fawaz Al-Mayman, a spokesperson for Riyadh police, said Abu Sin was arrested for “unethical behaviour”.

“His videos received many comments and many of the commenters of the general public demanded for him to be punished for his actions,” he added, according to the Saudi Gazette.

“The two of them [Abu Sin and Christina] composed enticing videos which received thousands of followers and viewers from all over the world within a short period of time.

“Most of the viewers were from the Arab world. Abu Sin, nicknamed for his projecting tooth, became famous and received negative attention.”

A Saudi lawyer told the Okaz newspaper the videos breach the country’s interpretation of Sharia law and internet regulations, meaning Abu Sin could have been sentenced to up to three years in prison.

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