A prominent pro-reform law professor in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to death for alleged crimes, including having a Twitter account and sharing news deemed “hostile” to the kingdom, according to court documents seen by the Guardian. To do this included using WhatsApp.
The arrest of 65-year-old Awad al-Qarni in September 2017 represented the beginning of a crackdown by then-newly designated Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on dissent.
Details of the allegations against al-Qarni have now been shared with the Guardian by his son Nasser, who fled the kingdom last year and is living in the UK, where he has said he is seeking asylum .
Saudi-controlled media portray al-Qarni as a dangerous preacher, but dissidents have said that al-Qarni was an important and well-known intellectual, with 2 million followers on social media.
Human rights advocates and Saudi dissidents living in exile have warned that authorities in the kingdom are engaged in a new and serious crackdown on individuals considered critical of the Saudi government. Last year, Salma al-Shahab, a Leeds PhD student and mother of two, was jailed for 34 years for creating a Twitter account and following and retweeting dissidents and activists. Another woman, Noura al-Qahtani, was sentenced to 45 years in prison for using Twitter.
But prosecution documents shared by Nasser al-Karni show that the use of social media and other communications inside the kingdom has been criminalized since the beginning of Prince Mohammed’s reign.
The Saudi government and state-controlled investors have recently increased their financial stakes in US social media platforms including Twitter and Facebook and in entertainment companies such as Disney. Saudi investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is the second largest investor in Twitter, after Elon Musk’s acquisition of the social media platform. The investor himself was detained for 83 days in 2017 during an alleged anti-corruption purge. Prince Alwaleed has acknowledged that he was released after reaching an “understanding” with the kingdom that was “confidential and secret between me and the government.” ,
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, separately raised its stake in Facebook and Meta, which owns Facebook and WhatsApp.
A translation of the charges against al-Qarni, for which he is facing the death penalty, included the law professor’s “admission” that he used a social media account under his own name (@awadalqarni) and use it to “at every opportunity … express your opinion”. The documents also said he “admitted” to participating in a WhatsApp chat, and was accused of participating in videos in which he praised the Muslim Brotherhood. The allegations also included the apparent use of Telegram by al-Qarni and the creation of a Telegram account.
Zeid Basouni, head of Middle East and North African advocacy at the human rights group Reprieve, said that al-Qarni’s case fits into a trend the group has seen of scholars and academics being punished for tweeting and expressing their views. is facing.
Asked about the state’s investment in Facebook and Twitter, Basauni said: If it weren’t so sinister, it would be laughable. This is in line with how they are working under this Crown Prince.”
Basauni said the state is seeking to project an image internationally by investing in technology, modern infrastructure, sports and entertainment.
“But at the same time, it’s completely irreparable with all the cases we’re seeing where we’re talking about public prosecutors – under the guidance of Mohammed bin Salman – killing people for their opinion.” For tweets, baat chit. They are not dangerous, they are not calling for the overthrow of the regime,” she said.
In the US, companies with large Saudi investments or other businesses in the Kingdom have not responded to public questions about Saudi’s treatment of dissent or the imprisonment of its users. Nor has the state bowed to calls from the Biden administration to improve its human rights record.
Ahmad Almutairi (also known as Ahmad Aljabreen), a Saudi who was charged with failing to register as a foreign agent after he infiltrated Twitter on behalf of the Saudi government and obtained confidential user data Having participated in a 201415 conspiracy to commit burglary, he is considered a fugitive by the FBI after evading arrest in the US. The breach is believed to have led to the outing of at least one Twitter user, Abdulrahman al-Sadhaan, who allegedly used a satirical account to mock the government. He was arrested and banished, and later sentenced to decades in prison.
Far from keeping a low profile, Almutairi’s social media accounts show him leading an active life in Riyadh, including posting invitations and VIP passes to a party sponsored by Netflix at Riyadh’s International Park on his Snapchat this week , which was hosted by Saudi Gen. Entertainment Authority.
Netflix spokesman Richard Siklos did not respond to requests for comment about the company sponsoring an event in Riyadh whose invitation list included a man wanted by the FBI. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings admitted in 2020 that he agreed with Hasan Minhaj to censor an episode of the comedy show Patriot Act that included criticism of Saudi Arabia for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in exchange for Saudi Arabia’s apparent The content was allowed to be shown. Empire.
“It is beyond abhorrent that a prominent law professor faces the death penalty for using Twitter while an FBI fugitive, wanted for infiltrating Twitter’s headquarters, attends a Saudi government event.” receives a Netflix-sponsored VIP invitation,” said Khaled Aljabri, who lives in exile and whose father was a former Saudi intelligence officer, and whose brother and sister are being held in the kingdom.
Saudi dissidents living in the US also learned this week that Ibrahim Alhussain a Saudi who had been living in the US and was found guilty of lying to authorities after prosecutors alleged he harassed individuals living in the US and Canada Did and threatened – was sent back. Saudi after serving a short sentence
One of Alhussain’s victims posted this week that an account of the harasser sought to contact her after she was released from prison. The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment.
The Saudi government did not respond to requests for comment.
