Saudi man escapes death penalty, gets 30 years jail sentence for criticising government on social media

A Saudi court sentenced a retired teacher to 30 years in jail for criticising the government on social media, less than two months after his death sentence was overturned, his brother said on Tuesday.

The death sentence against Mohammed al-Ghamdi highlighted what critics describe as heightened repression under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Gulf kingdom's de facto ruler.

Prince Mohammed addressed the case in an interview with Fox News that aired in September 2023, saying the government was "ashamed" over it and expressing hope the outcome could be changed.

Ghamdi's death sentence was overturned on appeal in August.

But the appeals court sentenced him to 30 years imprisonment on the same charges, his brother Saeed al-Ghamdi, an Islamic scholar who lives in Britain, told AFP.

Mohammed al-Ghamdi had been sentenced to death in July 2023 by the Specialised Criminal Court, which was set up in 2008 to deal with terrorism-related cases.

The former teacher, who is in his 50s, was arrested in June 2022.

The case against him was at least partly built on posts criticising the government and expressing support for "prisoners of conscience" like the jailed religious clerics Salman al-Awda and Awad al-Qarni, his brother has previously said.

His account on social media platform X had only nine followers, the Gulf Centre for Human Rights said when his legal troubles came to light last year.

The charges he faced included conspiracy against the Saudi leadership, undermining state institutions and supporting terrorist ideology, sources briefed on the details said at the time.

"This about-face in judgements testifies to the dramatic state of the kingdom's politicised judicial system," Saeed al-Ghamdi said on X.

"My brother is not guilty to be arrested and tried in this way," he added.

The Saudi authorities could not immediately be reached for comment.

Human Rights Watch and Saeed al-Ghamdi reported last month that another brother, 47-year-old Asaad al-Ghamdi, had been sentenced to 20 years over critical social media posts.

There was no word on Tuesday on whether judges would also review Asaad al-Ghamdi's sentence.

Under Prince Mohammed, Saudi Arabia has been pursuing an ambitious reform agenda known as Vision 2030 intended to transform the formerly closed-off kingdom into a global tourism and business destination.

However, Saudi authorities continue to take heat for the country's rights record and restrictions on free speech in particular.

Source: Agence France-Presse, Staff, September 26, 2024

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