Current:Home > BackSaudi Arabia reportedly sentences man to death for criticizing government on social media-InfoLens
Saudi Arabia reportedly sentences man to death for criticizing government on social media
View Date:2024-12-23 15:06:15
Dubai — Saudi Arabia has sentenced to death a government critic who denounced alleged corruption and human rights abuses on social media, his brother and others familiar with the case told AFP on Monday.
The judgement was handed down against Mohammed al-Ghamdi in July by the Specialized Criminal Court, a secretive institution established in 2008 to try terrorism cases that has a history of unfair trials resulting in death sentences.
The charges against al-Ghamdi include conspiracy against the Saudi leadership, undermining state institutions and supporting terrorist ideology, sources briefed on the details of the case told AFP.
- Saudi Arabia frees U.S. man jailed for insulting crown prince
Saudi officials did not respond to AFP's request for comment.
Human rights activists said the case highlights an intense crackdown on criticism published on social media, even via accounts that have few followers.
Saeed al-Ghamdi, Mohammed's brother and an activist living in exile outside Saudi Arabia, said the case against Mohammed was at least partly built on posts on X, formerly Twitter, criticizing the government and expressing support for "prisoners of conscience" such as the jailed religious clerics Salman al-Awda and Awad al-Qarni.
Mohammed al-Ghamdi's account on X had only nine followers, according to the Gulf Centre for Human Rights.
"Saudi courts are escalating their repression and unveiling publicly their empty promises of reform," said Lina al-Hathloul, head of monitoring and communication for the rights group ALQST. "How can the world believe the country is reforming when a citizen is going to have his head cut off over tweets on an anonymous account with less than 10 followers?"
- Saudi border guards accused of killing hundreds of migrants
Saudi Arabia draws frequent criticism for its prolific use of the death penalty, executing 147 people last year, according to an AFP tally. There have been 94 executions so far this year.
State media reports don't specify the mode of execution but beheadings have been common in the past.
Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Saudi Arabia has been pursuing an ambitious reform agenda known as Vision 2030 intended to transform the formerly closed-off kingdom into a global tourism and business destination.
Saudi authorities continue to take heat for the country's rights record, however, spurring wide condemnation last year for decades-long prison sentences handed down to two women for social media posts critical of the government.
The political climate "is polluted with repression, terror, and political arrests just for expressing an opinion, even with tweets or liking tweets criticizing the situation," Saeed al-Ghamdi said.
- In:
- Mohammed bin Salman
- Human rights
- Capital Punishment
- Saudi Arabia
- execution
veryGood! (85)
Related
- Lee Zeldin, Trump’s EPA Pick, Brings a Moderate Face to a Radical Game Plan
- Rudy Giuliani files for bankruptcy following $146 million defamation suit judgment
- Biden pardons marijuana use nationwide. Here's what that means
- Biden believes U.S. Steel sale to Japanese company warrants ‘serious scrutiny,’ White House says
- Man is 'not dead anymore' after long battle with IRS, which mistakenly labeled him deceased
- The war took away their limbs. Now bionic prostheses empower wounded Ukrainian soldiers
- More patients are losing their doctors – and their trust in the primary care system
- Gymnastics star Simone Biles named AP Female Athlete of the Year a third time after dazzling return
- NFL Week 10 injury report: Live updates on active, inactive players for Sunday's games
- Hong Kong court rejects activist publisher Jimmy Lai’s bid to throw out sedition charge
Ranking
- Wall Street makes wagers on the likely winners and losers in a second Trump term
- Where to watch 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' on streaming this year (it's not on standard TV)
- Biden believes U.S. Steel sale to Japanese company warrants ‘serious scrutiny,’ White House says
- Russian official says US is hampering a prisoner exchange with unequal demands
- Man waives jury trial in killing of Georgia nursing student
- AP-Week in Pictures-North America
- Federal court revives lawsuit against Nirvana over 1991 ‘Nevermind’ naked baby album cover
- LeBron James is out with left ankle peroneal tendinopathy. What is that? How to treat it
Recommendation
-
How Leonardo DiCaprio Celebrated His 50th Birthday
-
Dreaming of a white Christmas? Try Alaska. Meanwhile, some US ski areas struggle with rain
-
ICHCOIN Trading Center: RWA Reshaping the New World of Cryptocurrency
-
Truck carrying gas hits railroad bridge and explodes as a train passes overhead
-
Halle Berry surprises crowd in iconic 2002 Elie Saab gown from her historic Oscar win
-
Connecticut police dog killed in shooting after state troopers tried to serve an arrest warrant
-
Make time for sex and intimacy this holiday season. You won't regret it.
-
ICHCOIN Trading Center: NFT Leading Technological Innovation and Breakthrough