For whatever reason, it may behoove Westerners to say that Saudi Arabia is reforming, but the real test of reform is freedom of expression. Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who has been applauded by many, has begun a “sweeping crackdown against dissent, which saw some of the kingdom’s prominent academics, journalists, and preachers thrown into prison.” Awad Al-Qarni is one of them. The 64-year-old is a well known and well respected academic; he has now been sentenced to death for sharing posts of which Saudi Arabia disapproves.
Dissidents continue to suffer in Saudi Arabia. See more HERE, and HERE.
“Respected academic sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for sharing articles on WhatsApp,” by Ryan Fahey Mirror, January 15, 2023:
A respected academic has been sentenced to die in Saudi Arabia for having a Twitter account and sharing news considered “hostile” on WhatsApp.
Awad Al-Qarni, 65, was arrested in September 2017 at the start of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s sweeping crackdown against dissent, which saw some of the kingdom’s prominent academics, journalists, and preachers thrown into prison.
Painted as a dangerous cleric by Saudi state media outlets, Al-Qarni is said to be an important pro-reform intellectual with a strong two-million user following on Twitter.
He was well-respected and appeared on a number of TV shows and taught at the Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic and King Khalid universities.
Al-Qarni’s son Nasser, who is currently in exile in the UK after fleeing the kingdom, shared details of the charges against his dad with The Guardian.
Saudi dissidents and human rights group say officials there have begun a fresh repression on free-speech, cracking down on those who criticise the Saudi government.
In 2022, Leeds PhD student and mum-of-two Salma al-Shehab was jailed for 34 years for just having Twitter.
Saudi Arabia claimed she had followed and retweeted controversial dissident posts.
Noura al-Qathani received a 45-year term for using the same social media platform.
In Al-Qarni’s prosecution documents, it becomes clear that Riyadh is criminalising the use of social media and other forms of online communication.
But as its citizens are thrown behind the bars, the government continues to heap vast amounts of cash into US social media platforms, including Twitter.
Saudi investor and prince, Alaweed bin Talal, holds the second largest stake in Twitter after Elon Musk.
The state detained him for 83 days during an “anti-corruption” purge in 2017, having only been released after coming to a “secret understanding” with the government……
tim gallagher says
The knuckle draggers that run islamic countries like Saudi Arabia will never reform (primitive, barbaric islam doesn’t allow that) and they will never learn to walk upright and behave like civilised human beings. islam means living back in 7th century Arabia and no civilised human being lives in that way.
OLD GUY says
Smoke and Mirrors. Saudi Arabia says what the west wants to hear while continuing their Islamic plan for DOMINATION of the WESTERN WORLD.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
I think we should take a closer look at who and what the Saudis are cracking down on. Like Jamal Khashoggi was a cause celebre, but he was supportive of the muslim Brotherhood. I’d like to know more about these ‘respected academics’ before I go on to condemn Riyadh: we’ve seen all our academics who hate our values, and if these academics are among those Left globalists, like this Leeds student seems to be, the Saudis shouldn’t be condemned at all! Among the people we have in the above story are a cleric(!), a student from a Western college, and someone else who got no description. Hardly the sort of people worth our support. If Saudi Arabia falls to the Left, it won’t become another Oman or UAE: it’ll become another Qatar
It is also misleading to claim that the Saudis are cracking down on Twitter users on one hand, and funding those platforms on the other. Alaweed bin Talal – the one doing the investing – is not an ally of MbS: he was one of the people imprisoned at the start of his regime. Bin Talal is somewhat unique in being an investor in Western tech companies – his activities go back to him investing w/ Steve Jobs’ companies, both Next and Apple – while he also bankrolls dawa and jihad activity overseas. Which is why describing him as funding something w/ ‘the Saudis’ funding something – as if it were the Riyadh regime – is misleading
Once Saudis are in the same place as Iranians as far as being fedup of islam goes, then it would be worth being more critical of how democratic their government is. I don’t see any evidence that they are anywhere near that point!