NOVANEWS
A court has sentenced a Saudi man to three years in prison for “insulting a foreign embassy in Riyadh” on Twitter, Saudi daily Al-Riyadh reported on Tuesday.
The man, whose identity was not revealed, was convicted of posting offensive tweets through his personal Twitter account to that of the foreign embassy, which the newspaper also refrained from identifying. According to the daily, the tweets allegedly included death threats and profane language.
The plaintiff and prosecutor-general have already lodged an appeal against the preliminary verdict, which also entailed a fine of 30,000 Saudi riyals (roughly $8,000).
In the past years, rights groups have accused Saudi Arabia of exploiting a campaign against “extremists” — underway for the last seven years — to crack down on all forms of political dissent and curb freedom of speech and opinion.
Saudi Arabia has jailed several prominent activists on charges ranging from setting up an illegal organization to damaging the reputation of the country.
The US-ally kingdom flogged activist Raif Badawi in public on January 9 near a mosque in the Red Sea city of Jeddah. Badawi received 50 lashes for “insulting Islam.”
Subsequent rounds of flogging were postponed for the following two weeks on medical grounds. A session last Friday was also deferred, his wife Ensaf Haidar said, adding that the reason was not clear.
Badawi, 30, was arrested in June 2012 and charged with offenses ranging from cyber crime to disobeying his father and apostasy, or abandoning his faith.
He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, a fine of 1 million Saudi riyals ($266,666) and 1,000 lashes last year after prosecutors challenged an earlier sentence of seven years and 600 lashes as being too lenient.
On Sunday, Suad al-Shammari, a woman who co-founded the Saudi Liberal Network Internet discussion group with Badawi, was freed after about three months in prison when she was arrested in October for “insulting” Islam through posts about Islamic religious leaders on Twitter.
Some 41 percent of internet users in the oil-rich kingdom use Twitter, a study published by the US-based Business Insider website found.
The microblogging site has stirred broad debate on subjects ranging from religion to politics in a country where such public discussion had been considered at best unseemly and sometimes illegal.
In late January, a Twitter account called “Monaseeron” posted classified documents, reportedly from the interior and defense ministries, that revealed much about the Saudi government’s efforts to spy on its citizens and monitor their accounts, as well as details on arrest warrants and detention of individuals who called for political reform. The account also exposed royal outrage over otherwise unremarkable articles published online.
In February 2014, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said that Gulf monarchies, fearful of unrest, have stepped up efforts to monitor and control media, particularly online.
Saudi Arabia, which is on the group’s “Enemies of the Internet” list, has been particularly aggressive in policing the Internet, including by arresting those who post critical articles or comments, RSF said.
Three lawyers in the oil-rich kingdom were jailed late October for up to eight years and banned from using social media over Tweets that undermined the judiciary. The lawyers were convicted, among other charges, of “disobeying the ruler” as well as undermining and slandering the judicial system which they described as “retarded.”
In April, a judge sentenced a Saudi blogger and rights activist Walid Abu al-Khair to 15 years in jail for taking part in protests and defaming the kingdom by communicating with foreigners and through publishing articles on the Internet.
In a similar case in early March, a Saudi court jailed a Twitter user for 10 years after convicting him of insulting the kingdom’s political and religious leaders and urging anti-regime protests, state media said.
Political activism can also be penalized by death, as Saudi Arabia, like neighboring Bahrain, has taken a zero tolerance approach to all attempts at protest or dissent in the kingdom.
On January 13, Saudi security forces fired live ammunition on unarmed protesters in the kingdom’s Eastern Province, killing one person and wounding three.
The latest killing adds to the four demonstrators shot dead by Saudi forces in November.
In 2014, Saudi judges passed death sentences down to five pro-democracy advocates, including prominent activist and cleric Nimr al-Nimr, for their part in protests.
The man, whose identity was not revealed, was convicted of posting offensive tweets through his personal Twitter account to that of the foreign embassy, which the newspaper also refrained from identifying. According to the daily, the tweets allegedly included death threats and profane language.
The plaintiff and prosecutor-general have already lodged an appeal against the preliminary verdict, which also entailed a fine of 30,000 Saudi riyals (roughly $8,000).
In the past years, rights groups have accused Saudi Arabia of exploiting a campaign against “extremists” — underway for the last seven years — to crack down on all forms of political dissent and curb freedom of speech and opinion.
Saudi Arabia has jailed several prominent activists on charges ranging from setting up an illegal organization to damaging the reputation of the country.
The US-ally kingdom flogged activist Raif Badawi in public on January 9 near a mosque in the Red Sea city of Jeddah. Badawi received 50 lashes for “insulting Islam.”
Subsequent rounds of flogging were postponed for the following two weeks on medical grounds. A session last Friday was also deferred, his wife Ensaf Haidar said, adding that the reason was not clear.
Badawi, 30, was arrested in June 2012 and charged with offenses ranging from cyber crime to disobeying his father and apostasy, or abandoning his faith.
He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, a fine of 1 million Saudi riyals ($266,666) and 1,000 lashes last year after prosecutors challenged an earlier sentence of seven years and 600 lashes as being too lenient.
On Sunday, Suad al-Shammari, a woman who co-founded the Saudi Liberal Network Internet discussion group with Badawi, was freed after about three months in prison when she was arrested in October for “insulting” Islam through posts about Islamic religious leaders on Twitter.
Some 41 percent of internet users in the oil-rich kingdom use Twitter, a study published by the US-based Business Insider website found.
The microblogging site has stirred broad debate on subjects ranging from religion to politics in a country where such public discussion had been considered at best unseemly and sometimes illegal.
In late January, a Twitter account called “Monaseeron” posted classified documents, reportedly from the interior and defense ministries, that revealed much about the Saudi government’s efforts to spy on its citizens and monitor their accounts, as well as details on arrest warrants and detention of individuals who called for political reform. The account also exposed royal outrage over otherwise unremarkable articles published online.
In February 2014, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said that Gulf monarchies, fearful of unrest, have stepped up efforts to monitor and control media, particularly online.
Saudi Arabia, which is on the group’s “Enemies of the Internet” list, has been particularly aggressive in policing the Internet, including by arresting those who post critical articles or comments, RSF said.
Three lawyers in the oil-rich kingdom were jailed late October for up to eight years and banned from using social media over Tweets that undermined the judiciary. The lawyers were convicted, among other charges, of “disobeying the ruler” as well as undermining and slandering the judicial system which they described as “retarded.”
In April, a judge sentenced a Saudi blogger and rights activist Walid Abu al-Khair to 15 years in jail for taking part in protests and defaming the kingdom by communicating with foreigners and through publishing articles on the Internet.
In a similar case in early March, a Saudi court jailed a Twitter user for 10 years after convicting him of insulting the kingdom’s political and religious leaders and urging anti-regime protests, state media said.
Political activism can also be penalized by death, as Saudi Arabia, like neighboring Bahrain, has taken a zero tolerance approach to all attempts at protest or dissent in the kingdom.
On January 13, Saudi security forces fired live ammunition on unarmed protesters in the kingdom’s Eastern Province, killing one person and wounding three.
The latest killing adds to the four demonstrators shot dead by Saudi forces in November.
In 2014, Saudi judges passed death sentences down to five pro-democracy advocates, including prominent activist and cleric Nimr al-Nimr, for their part in protests.
