Saudi authorities have agreed to release 17 Filipino workers who were arrested for attending an illegal Halloween party in Riyadh last week.
Last Friday, the Filipino workers were arrested during a raid after neighbors complained of loud noise from a party that was allegedly illegal. A video that went viral claimed 19 Filipino women and five men of different nationalities organized the party, GMA News reported.
Philippine officials confirmed that 17 Filipino workers had been arrested for attending the party. Six of the 17 Filipinos were reportedly working as part-time food servers and did not know they would be arrested.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said Saudi authorities will turn over custody of the Filipino workers to the Philippine embassy. The Filipinos were being held at the Al Nisa Jail in Riyadh.
The organizers of the party were charged with holding an event without a permit and for disturbing the neighborhood. Under Saudi Arabian law, males and females who are not married are prohibited from being seen together in public.
Read: Filipinos held after illegal Saudi party were ‘food servers’
Read: Filipinos arrested over alleged illegal party in Saudi