A horrifying video has been leaked showing Saudi Arabian security services brutally assaulting a group of women and dragging them around by their hair.
The video posted on Twitter shows dozens of men dressed in security uniforms and others in Saudi national dress chasing women, beating them with wooden sticks and thrashing them with leather belts.
It then shows a man dragging one of the women by her hair as she screams.
The brutality was because the women staged a hunger strike over poor living conditions in an orphanage which is located in Khamis Mushait, a city in Asir province, some 884 kilometres from the capital Riyadh.
On Wednesday, the governor of the Asir region, Turki bin Talal bin Abdulaziz, said he was launching a committee to investigate the incident and would "refer the case to the competent authorities".
This comes as it was revealed Saudi Arabia executed 80 prisoners in a mass beheading.
In recent weeks, Saudi Arabia has waged a brutal crackdown on female activists and recently sentenced a Leeds University student to 34 years in prison for using Twitter.
The video has acted as further evidence of the Saudi government’s suppression of women rights under the rule of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Salma al-Shehab, 34, a mother of two young children, was handed the sentence for using Twitter to “cause public unrest and destabilise civil and national security”.
Human rights groups have condemned the brutal sentencing of al-Shehab, who was holidaying in the country, saying it is one of the most draconian punishments ever to be handed down by a Saudi court to critics of the leadership.
Following al-Shehab's sentencing, female activist Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani was then given a 42-year sentence, also over her social media activity.
"Just as women’s rights activists such as Loujain al-Hathloul were tortured for demanding their basic rights, orphans who complain about their daily conditions will also be brutally silenced and physically assaulted," said Lina al-Hathloul, a Saudi human rights activist.
US President Joe Biden recently visited the Kingdom and met the Crown Prince with a fist bump, prompting outrage and causing fear that Biden may have emboldened the Kingdom's leader.
Rights group now fear that the women who filmed the orphanage attack risk being prosecuted under strict laws that forbid anything damaging Saudi Arabia's public image.
A hashtag " Khamis Mushait orphans " has gone viral on Twitter, hoping to bring awareness, justice and accountability for the attacks.
One user wrote: "Here is how they treat the women in their official police departments, but they demand other countries to respect women's rights."
