Saudi Arabia convicts seven over Facebook posts
By Daniel Shane Sunday, 30 June 2013 1:40 PM
Saudi Arabia has sentenced seven government critics to jail time for allegedly inciting protests using Facebook.
The Gulf state’s Specialised Criminal Court sentenced the men, all from Saudi’s Eastern Province, to prison terms ranging from five to ten years, as well as issuing travel bans. The Eastern Province, home to many in Saudi Arabia’s Shi’ite majority, has been the site of much of recent unrest in the country.
According to activist group Human Rights Watch, the men were arrested between September and June 2011, before being detained for about a year-and-a-half in Damman. They were put on trial before the Specialised Criminal Court, setup in 2008 to deal with terrorism-related cases, in April 2013.
“Sending people off to years in prison for peaceful Facebook posts sends a strong message that there’s no safe way to speak out in Saudi Arabia, even on online social networks,” commented Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
“If the EU doesn’t raise these cases with Saudi officials this weekend, its silence will look like craven compliance with the rights abuses of an authoritarian state,” he added.
Human Rights Watch said that the case had not implicated the seven in directly taking part in protests and the court had failed to investigate allegations of confessions obtained via torture.
All seven were convicted of violating article six of Saudi Arabia’s Anti-Cyber Crime Law, which prohibits producing, sending, or storing any material via an information network that “harms public order”.
By Daniel Shane Sunday, 30 June 2013 1:40 PM
Saudi Arabia has sentenced seven government critics to jail time for allegedly inciting protests using Facebook.
The Gulf state’s Specialised Criminal Court sentenced the men, all from Saudi’s Eastern Province, to prison terms ranging from five to ten years, as well as issuing travel bans. The Eastern Province, home to many in Saudi Arabia’s Shi’ite majority, has been the site of much of recent unrest in the country.
According to activist group Human Rights Watch, the men were arrested between September and June 2011, before being detained for about a year-and-a-half in Damman. They were put on trial before the Specialised Criminal Court, setup in 2008 to deal with terrorism-related cases, in April 2013.
“Sending people off to years in prison for peaceful Facebook posts sends a strong message that there’s no safe way to speak out in Saudi Arabia, even on online social networks,” commented Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
“If the EU doesn’t raise these cases with Saudi officials this weekend, its silence will look like craven compliance with the rights abuses of an authoritarian state,” he added.
Human Rights Watch said that the case had not implicated the seven in directly taking part in protests and the court had failed to investigate allegations of confessions obtained via torture.
All seven were convicted of violating article six of Saudi Arabia’s Anti-Cyber Crime Law, which prohibits producing, sending, or storing any material via an information network that “harms public order”.
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