Death penalty or Amnesty to Deported Saudi blogger?

Hamza Kashgari

RIYADH - A Saudi journalist wanted in the kingdom for comments deemed insulting to the Prophet Mohammed was arrested after being deported from Malaysia and will face charges of blasphemy, a report said Monday.

Hamza Kashgari, "was taken into custody as he arrived in Riyadh on Sunday night," reported the English-language daily Arab News, citing "informed sources."

"The sources said Kashgari was accompanied by Saudi officials on his flight to King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh," Arab News reported.

He "will face charges of blasphemy," the sources told the daily.

Kashgari, 23, was detained in Malaysia last week after fleeing Saudi Arabia in fear for his life after his Twitter post about the prophet sparked outrage.

Insulting the Prophet Mohammed is considered blasphemous in Islam and is a crime punishable by execution in deeply conservative Saudi Arabia.

Human rights groups had warned that deporting Kashgari would be akin to a death sentence and urged Muslim-majority Malaysia to free him.

A group on the online social network Facebook calling for his execution has amassed more than 21,000 members by Monday.

Referring to the prophet, Kashgari had tweeted: "I have loved things about you and I have hated things about you and there is a lot I don't understand about you.

"I will not pray for you."

Malaysia has no formal extradition treaty with Saudi Arabia and Kashgari's deportation has been condemned by rights groups.

Source: Middle East Online, Feb. 13, 2012

Saudi tweeter's supporters may face court summon

Manama: People who encouraged a Saudi controversial columnist facing charges of blasphemy could be summoned by the public prosecutor, a report has said.

"The public prosecutor in Jeddah is filing a lawsuit against Hamza Kashgari on charges of disrespecting God and insulting Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) in his Twitter account," sources told Al Hayat daily.

The sources said that public prosecutor in the Red Sea city of Jeddah was likely to summon people who expressed support or agreed with him on the social network, the daily reported on Monday.

"The public prosecutor, as the attorney for the society, has the right to summon anyone who encouraged the defendant or who is connected to matters that motivated his action," Abdul Aziz Al Zamel, a legal consultant, said, quoted by Al Hayat.

Source: Gulf News, February 13, 2012

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