A pro-reform law professor in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to death for a series of alleged crimes, including using WhatsApp and Twitter to share news deemed “hostile” to the kingdom. Details of the allegations leveled against 65-year-old Awad Al-Qarni were revealed to the British newspaper Guardian by his son Nasser, who fled the country last year and lives in the United Kingdom, where he has sought asylum. The professor’s arrest in September 2017 marked the beginning of a crackdown on dissent led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Al-Qarni was portrayed in the Saudi-controlled media as a “dangerous preacher”, but dissidents argue instead that he was a prominent and respected intellectual, with a large social media following and 2 million Twitter followers.
Among the charges against Al-Qarni is “the law professor’s admission that he used a social media account in his name (@awadalqarni) and used it to express his views.” The documents also state that he admitted to participating in a WhatsApp chat and was accused of participating in videos in which he praised the Muslim Brotherhood. The creation of a Telegram account were also included in the allegations.
I am the case of Salma al-Shehab and Noura al-Qahtani
But it is not the first case of repression. Last year, Salma al-Shehab, a Leeds PhD candidate and mother of two, faced a 34-year sentence for a Twitter account and for following and retweeting dissidents and activists. Noura al-Qahtani was sentenced to 45 years in prison on the same grounds. But the government has recently increased its financial stake in US social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a Saudi businessman, is the second largest investor in Twitter following Elon Musk’s takeover of the social media platform. He was detained for 83 days in a so-called “anti-corruption purge” in 2017: Prince Alwaleed said he was released after reaching a “confidential and secret” “understanding” with the kingdom.