Saudi Arabia professor sentenced to death for sharing 'hostile' news on social media

Renowned Saudi Arabian professor Awad Al-Qarni was given a death sentence on the grounds of alleged crimes of having an account on Twitter and using platforms like WhatsApp to propagate “hostile” information and news about Saudi Arabia, as per the court material viewed by The Guardian. 

Information about the charges against the academic has recently been brought to light by his son Nasser, who fled to the United Kingdom and is currently seeking asylum protection. Sixty-five-year-old Al-Qarni was arrested in September 2017, a time that represented the beginning of a crackdown against detractors by the then-new crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. 

Court documents shared by Nasser display the use of social media deemed as criminal activities inside the kingdom since the prince began his rule. A translated version of the charges against Al-Qarni encompasses the professor’s “admission” that he was operating a social media account with his own name and would often use it “at every opportunity … to express his opinions."

The prosecution documents also revealed that he “admitted” taking part in a chat on Whatsapp and in videos that lauded the Muslim Brotherhood. Jeed Basyouni, the head of Middle East and north African advocacy at the human rights group Reprieve, said that Al-Qarni facing a death sentence is an action that the group has observed multiple times in cases of dissenting academics and scholars.

Human rights group head says Saudi Arabians being 'killed for their opinions'

When questioned about Saudi Arabia’s investment in platforms like Twitter and Facebook, Basyouni said, “If it wasn’t so sinister, it would be farcical. It is consistent with how they’re operating under this crown prince.” She added that the kingdom attempts to portray that it often invests in modern endeavours like infrastructure and technology.

“But at the same time, that is fully irreconcilable with all the cases we are seeing, where we are talking about the public prosecutor – under the guidance of Mohammed bin Salman – calling for people to be killed for their opinions, for tweets, for conversations. They are not dangerous, they’re not calling for an overthrow of the regime,” she said.