Man arrested in Saudi Arabia after bragging about beating Egyptian

Earlier this week Saudi authorities arrested a man who appeared in a video claiming to be a Saudi sponsor and boasting about how he had abused an Egyptian employee who works for him.

The video sparked outrage on social media in the kingdom and in Egypt, with thousands reacting to it. 

After investigating the incident, police in Saudi's Najran governorate released a statement explaining that the suspect isn't a Saudi, but an expat born on the kingdom. 

In his statement on the matter, the official spokesperson of Najran's police department, Gen. Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al-Ashawi said: 

"After the video of a man who claimed to be a Saudi sponsor went viral on social media, police forces identified and arrested him. We can confirm that he doesn't hold the Saudi nationality and is an Arab expat." 

"The defendant's case has now been referred to the prosecutor's office," Al-Ashawi added.

Here's how the entire incident went down on social media:

In the now viral video, the man is seen bragging about 'beating up' and 'humiliating' an Egyptian employee who allegedly works for him, simply because the latter asked for his salary.

His friends are heard joking about the matter and laughing as he told the story. 

"This man must be held accountable, he must pay for his inhumane behavior.  As a Saudi, I apologize to all Egyptians over this." 

"I am a Saudi and I am completely against the kafala (sponsorship system). Freedom is beautiful."

Regardless of whether the man in the video is an actual Saudi sponsor or not, and despite the fact that his entire story might be made up, many on social media still used his video as an example of what the kafala (sponsorship) system often allows employers to do. 

The kafala (sponsorship) system dominates foreign workers in Saudi Arabia and in several countries across the Arab world. 

According to Human Rights Watch, it's a "system that gives sponsoring employers substantial control over workers and leaves workers vulnerable to situations of trafficking and forced labor." 

Called "modern-day slavery" by rights groups, the system legally binds foreign workers to their employers, giving them very limited legal protection.

In general the entire system is highly criticized by activists and human rights group for exploiting workers and denying them their most basic rights.  

After the video went viral on social media, the man who appeared in it shared another one. 

In it, he and one of the men who appeared in the original footage, explained that the entire thing was a joke. 

The man, who had claimed to be a Saudi sponsor also explained that he is actually a Yemeni expat, who was born in the kingdom. 

"I am not a sponsor and I can't be one because I am an expat myself," the unidentified man is heard saying in the follow up video. 

"We were just joking around, and didn't expect the video to spread the way it did," he added. 

"This is a silly, offensive joke... all our respect to our Egyptian brothers."

"After posing as a Saudi sponsor, Najran's police department arrest an expat who claimed he had deprived an Egyptian employee of his salary and been physically abusive towards him."