2024-09-24 19:18:05
A Saudi court sentenced a citizen who took to social media to denounce corruption and human rights abuses in the kingdom to 30 years in prison, his brother told AFP on Tuesday, moving closer to overturning an earlier death penalty. The verdict was handed down less than two months ago.
that is amnesty international Last August, it called for Al Ghamdi’s “immediate and unconditional release.”
The organization said in a statement at the time: “Mohammed bin Nasser Al-Ghamdi’s alleged crime was expressed on social media and he should not have been tried, let alone sentenced in the first place. death penalty.
In a rare interview with the American Fox News Channel, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman confirmed the “authenticity” of the details of the case of retired Saudi teacher Mohammed Al Ghamdi (56 years old). The case of retired Saudi teacher Mohammed Al-Ghamdi (56) takes on a different dimension.
The crown prince, who is also prime minister, expressed the hope that “the judges will be more experienced in the next stage of the trial.”
Early last month, a Saudi appeals court effectively overturned Al Ghamdi’s death sentence.
“The Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday to jail my brother Mohammed for 30 years after he was found guilty of the same charges as before in a ruling that was overturned,” preacher Saeed Al-Ghamdi confirmed to AFP. “
In July 2023, the Special Criminal Court established in 2008 to hear terrorism cases decided to sentence Al Ghamdi to death on charges related to publications that were interpreted as calling for “disruption of social security and conspiracy against terrorism”. Government” through his account on the X platform.
Human rights activists said at the time that the case was based at least in part on posts criticizing the government and supporting “prisoners of conscience” such as jailed clerics Salman Oda and Awad Qani.
The Gulf Center for Human Rights said there were only nine followers on the X platform when Al-Ghamdi’s account was posted.
Preacher Saeed Al-Ghamdi has more than 500,000 followers on the website
It is unclear whether Al Ghamdi can appeal the new prison sentence, according to his brother Saeed.
Comment from the Saudi Arabian government on the details of the new ruling was not immediately available.
Last July, the same court sentenced another brother, Asaad Al-Ghamdi, a teacher and father of six, the youngest of whom is 6, to 20 years in prison. year old girl.
Since Prince Mohammed became crown prince in 2017, Saudi Arabia has been pursuing an ambitious reform agenda, known as Vision 2030, aimed at transforming the previously closed kingdom into a global tourism and business destination. social reform. But this has also been accompanied by an ongoing crackdown on opposition. The kingdom has been criticized for its human rights record, particularly its restrictions on speech rights.
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