A man sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for his tweets

Mohammed bin Nasser al-Ghamdi has published messages critical of Mohammed bin Salman’s regime

In yet another act of crackdown by the Mohammed bin Salman regime in Saudi Arabia, a local court has sentenced a man to death for his post in the xformertwitterand your YouTube activity.

The sentence against Mohammed Bin Nasser al-Ghamdi, seen on Wednesday 30 from Associated pressit comes in the context of the arrests and convictions of critics of the regime, such as PhD student Salma al-Shehab, who have used social media to express their political positions.

The rulings appear to be part of Crown Prince Bin Salman’s effort to eliminate challenges to his rule as he pursues awareness-raising projects and diplomatic deals that could boost the country’s image globally.

“Al-Ghamdi’s death sentence for the tweets is horrendous, but it is in line with the growing crackdown by the Saudi authorities,” said Lina Alhathloul, head of monitoring at the NGO ALQST.

Long prison sentences for free speech, such as 27 years against Salma al-Shehab, have not received enough protest, and the authorities have taken this as a green light to redouble their crackdown,” Alhathloul said. “They are sending a message . clear and sinister: that no one is safe and that even a tweet can kill you.”

Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court, set up to try terrorism cases but now also hearing charges against activists, did not respond to requests for comment.

According to court documents, the charges brought against al-Ghamdi include “betrayal of his religion,” “disturbing the security of society,” “conspiracy against the government,” and “defamation of the kingdom and the crown prince” — all on his behalf. online activity that involved sharing posts by critics.

Saudi officials have not explained why they targeted al-Ghamdi, a retired teacher who lives in the city of Mecca. However, her brother, Saeed bin Nasser al-Ghamdi, is a well-known critic of the Saudi government who lives in the UK.

“This false sentence intends to affect me personally after the investigators’ failed attempts to bring me back to the country,” his brother tweeted on Thursday the 31st.

In the past, Saudi Arabia has used the arrests of family members as a means of pressuring those abroad to return home, activists say.

The ruling prompted immediate criticism from international human rights groups.

“The crackdown in Saudi Arabia has reached a terrifying new stage when a court can only impose the death penalty for peaceful tweets,” said Joey Shea, researcher at Human Rights Watch.

According to Amnesty International, Saudi Arabia is one of the best performing countries in the world, second only to China and Iran in 2022. The number of people executed in Saudi Arabia last year – 196 detained – was the highest recorded by Amnesty over the past 30 years. In just one day last March, the kingdom executed 81 people, the biggest mass execution ever in the kingdom in its modern history.

However, al-Ghamdi’s case appears to be the first in the current crackdown to impose the death penalty on someone for their online behavior. /ap

Source: Terra

Rose

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