Saudi: No Bisht, No Access, Courts Warn Lawyers
Saudi courts have denied access to lawyers failing to show up wearing the bisht, a traditional male cloak, in compliance with recent directives obligating senior officials and lawyers in the kingdom to do their jobs while donning the garb.
That presiding judges at several courts have ordered lawyers to switch on surveillance cameras to verify their wearing of the bisht during the online hearings.
Some court circuits adjourned their sessions because lawyers did not switch on the cameras or failed to wear the bisht.
On Tuesday, the Saudi Bar Association issued a circular requesting male lawyers to do the job while clad in the bisht and female lawyers to wear the official attire.
Last week, official directives were issued specifying the formal use of the bisht for certain categories of individuals and state officials at workplaces and formal events.
The bisht dress code also applies to emirs and deputy emirs of provinces, governors, ministers, assistant and deputy ministers, leaders of independent departments and their deputies, as well as heads and deputy heads of city halls in the kingdom.
Additonally, it applies to members of the Saudi advisory Shura Council, judges and prosecutors, and lawyers.
In the same vein, the Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs and Call Abdul Latif Bin Abdul Aziz this week directed mosque imams and muezzins (the ones reciting the call to prayer) nationwide to wear the bisht during the prayers. In addition, preachers are directed to don the cloak while leading the congregation Friday prayers and those marking the Eids of Al Fitr and Al Adha – Islam’s two main feasts.
