As world celebrates Pride month, Saudi seizes rainbow-coloured toys in crackdown on homosexuality: Report

Riyadh: As part of Saudi Arabia's crackdown on homosexuality, the kingdom's officials are seizing rainbow-colored toys and articles of clothing from shops in the capital, state media reported.

Targeted items include rainbow-colored bows, skirts, hats, and pencil cases, most of them apparently manufactured for young children, according to a report broadcast Tuesday evening by the state-run Al-Ekhbariya news channel.

The report did not detail how many establishments were targeted or items seized in the commerce ministry operation, and Saudi officials did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment Wednesday.

An official from the commerce ministry, which is involved in the campaign said that the officials are giving a tour of the items that contradict the Islamic faith and public morals and promote homosexual colors targeting the younger generation.

Gesturing towards a rainbow flag, a journalist says: "The homosexuality flag is present in one of the Riyadh markets."

The colors send a "poisoned message" to children, the report says.

Homosexuality is a potential capital offense in Saudi Arabia, known for its strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law which forms the basis of its entire judicial system.

The rainbow raids come as Saudi Arabia has banned films that depict, or even refer to, sexual minorities. In April, the kingdom said it had asked Disney to cut "LGBTQ references" from the Marvel film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness but Disney refused.

The film ultimately did not screen in Saudi cinemas.

Disney's latest animation "Lightyear," which features a same-sex kiss, has also been banned in Saudi Arabia and more than a dozen other countries, a source close to Disney told AFP Tuesday, though Riyadh has not commented on that film.

Tuesday's Al-Ekhbariya report also showed stills of Benedict Cumberbatch in "Doctor Strange" and of apparently foreign children waving rainbow flags.