The Saudi Court of Appeal suspended a death sentence handed down last year against a citizen who denounced corruption and human rights violations in the Kingdom on social media, his brother told Agence France-Presse Thursday.
The case of retired Saudi teacher Mohammed Al-Ghamdi (56 years old) took on a different dimension after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman himself confirmed the “authenticity” of the details of the case in a rare interview that the American Fox News did with him. network last September.
The influential Crown Prince, who also holds the office of Prime Minister, said, “We are not happy about this. We are embarrassed.” He continued, “I hope the judges will be more experienced in the next phase of the trials. They can look at the case completely differently.”
On Thursday, Al-Ghamdi’s brother, the Islamic preacher Saeed Al-Ghamdi, who is a critic of the Saudi government living in exile in London, confirmed that “the Court of Appeal overturned his ‘decision against my brother Muhammad this week.
He said, “He told his family (in Saudi Arabia about the suspension of the sentence), and they told us. He has not been sentenced any more, and we don’t know if he will to withdraw or not.”
“He was showering for himself. ” Who is Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, on whom Saudi Arabia issued a death sentence?
Shortly before his arrest, by the Saudi authorities, in February 2022, Muhammad Al-Ghamdi (55 years old) bought a new phone and number, and created an account on the “X” website, called ” Twitter” previously. under a false name, “suspected not to reach him,” according to his brother Saeed, in his interview with the “Al-Hurra” website.
In July 2023, the Special Criminal Court, which was established in 2008 to hear terrorism cases, sentenced Al-Ghamdi to death on charges related to publications described as seeking to “disturb put on the security of the society and conspiracy against the government” through his account of it. the X platform.
Human rights activists said at the time that the case was based at least in part on publications criticizing the government and showing support for “prisoners of conscience” such as jailed clerics Salman Al-Awda and Awad Al- Qarni.
The Gulf Center for Human Rights said Al-Ghamdi’s X platform account had only nine followers when it was published.
In several other cases, the Court of Appeal increased prison sentences against the defendants, especially against two Saudi activists who received decades-long prison sentences in the summer of 2022.
Last month, the same court sentenced another of Muhammad’s brothers, Asaad Al-Ghamdi, a teacher and father of six children, the youngest of whom is a six-year-old girl, to 20 years in prison.
Human Rights Watch reported at the time that Asaad “was jailed on charges related to his peaceful social media activism.”
Despite his satisfaction with the suspension of the death sentence, Saeed’s brother said, “I don’t think there is an improvement in the human rights situation (in Saudi Arabia) as can be seen from the the continued arrest” of government critics, saying, “But Muhammad’s case progressed so much that it embarrassed Bin Salman.”
Since Prince Mohammed became Crown Prince in 2017, Saudi Arabia has pursued an ambitious reform agenda known as “Vision 2030” that aims to transform the previously closed kingdom into becoming a global tourist and commercial destination and embracing social reforms.
But this is accompanied by a continuous ban on the front. The Kingdom is under criticism for its human rights record and restrictions on the right to expression in particular.
2024-08-08 10:19:04
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