Dubai - Saudi police said on Tuesday they
had detained a 14-year-old boy who was filmed dancing to the
1990s hit song "Macarena" at a street crossing in the coastal
city of Jeddah, in a clip that was widely shared on social
media.
The teenager, whose name and nationality were not given, was
being questioned because he had shown "improper public
behaviour" and disrupted traffic, a statement from Mecca police
said. It was not clear whether he would be formally charged.
In the 45-second video, a teenager wearing a striped
t-shirt, grey sports shorts and brightly-coloured shoes strides
to the middle of a crosswalk. He starts dancing to the catchy
tune in front of five lanes of cars stopped at a traffic light.
Earlier this month police arrested and released a Saudi
singer for using the 'dab' move in an onstage dance. Abdallah
al-Shahani appeared on a viral video performing the dance at a
music festival in the city of Taif in southwestern Saudi Arabia.
The dance had been banned in the Kingdom by the National
Committee for Drug Control, on the grounds that it advocated or
encouraged drug abuse, according to Saudi media.
Saudis are among the most active users of social media in
the Arab world, using the Internet as an outlet for debate and
interaction in their deeply conservative society.