Saudi Scholar’s Brother Sentenced to Death for Tweets

1 min read

A Saudi court sentenced the brother of a prominent scholar and government critic to death for tweeting against corruption and defending imprisoned religious scholars during interrogations, his family and rights groups stated.

On Thursday, UK-based religious scholar Saeed al-Ghamdi tweeted that the Specialised Criminal Court in Riyadh had sentenced his brother, Mohammed, to death for tweets from an anonymous account with nine followers.

Middle East Eye reported his tweets on unemployment, inflation, government incompetence, and political prisoner release.

“I appeal to everyone who can help free my brother’s neck from injustice and unfair rulings,” London-based self-imposed exile Saeed al-Ghamdi stated.

His retired teacher brother was also imprisoned for protecting Saudi scholars Awad al-Qarni, Salman al-Odeh, Ali al-Omari, and Safar al-Hawali during interrogations. Qarni, Odeh, and Omari face the death penalty after being imprisoned since 2017.

UK advocacy organisations Alqst and the Sanad Rights Foundation reported the early July ruling against Mohammed al-Ghamdi nearly a year after his detention in June 2022 on Friday.

It is the first death sentence for social media posts after a series of draconian sentences for online activism, starting with Leeds University doctorate candidate Salma al-Shehab’s 34-year term for tweets last August.

You can buy us a coffee if you like our works:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/itup