Anyone in Saudi Arabia caught using online satire to “disrupt public order” faces up to five years in prison and a massive fine, under new laws aimed at further cracking down on dissent in the Kingdom.
Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia is undergoing a programme of sweeping reforms in a bid to modernise sections of its deeply conservative society.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Independent says its population is “one of the most engaged with social media in the Middle East, but online dissent has been discouraged with the threat of imprisonment”.
Dozens of Saudi citizens have been convicted on charges linked to dissent under a previous sweeping law, particularly linked to posts on Twitter.
Salman has “drawn harsh criticism from rights groups over the targeting of human rights activists and political dissidents across the spectrum since his appointment in June 2017” reports The Daily Telegraph, while “prosecutors have in the past used the Gulf kingdom's anti-cybercrime law to prosecute critics of the government” says the BBC.
In September 2017, authorities issued a public call for the Saudi public to report on the social media activities of their fellow citizens, under a broad definition of “terrorist” crimes.
Last month, prosecutors ordered five human rights protesters to be sentenced to death over their political activism. Israa al-Ghomgham, 29, is thought to be the first woman to be handed a death sentence in the kingdom.
On Tuesday, it was reported that prosecutors were seeking the death penalty for a prominent cleric who was arrested last September after posting a tweet endorsing warmer relations with Qatar.
UN experts have described Salman al-Oda as a “reformist” and an influential religious figure who has urged greater respect for human rights within Sharia.
However, the 61-year-old, who has more than 14 million Twitter followers, is accused of “seeking to spread sedition” and “incitement against the rulers”, according to London-based rights group ALQST.
-
Minnesota's legal system buckles under Trump's ICE surgeIN THE SPOTLIGHT Mass arrests and chaotic administration have pushed Twin Cities courts to the brink as lawyers and judges alike struggle to keep pace with ICE’s activity
-
Big-time money squabbles: the conflict over California’s proposed billionaire taxTalking Points Californians worth more than $1.1 billion would pay a one-time 5% tax
-
‘The West needs people’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
