Posts Tagged ‘Saudi Arabia’
February 10th, 2012
A
Saudi journalist was
arrested in
Malaysia on Wednesday night after a request by Interpol on behalf of Saudi authorities. Hamza Kashgari tweeted a mock conversation between himself and the prophet Mohammed last week, and fled the kingdom after he received thousands of death threats. Kashgari was en route to New Zealand when he was arrested. Saudi Arabia is seeking his extradition in order to try him for blasphemy.
January 16th, 2012
One person has been killed and at least three others have been injured in
clashes between security forces and Shia protesters in
Saudi Arabia.22 year-old Issam Mohammed died in al-Awamiya on Friday, after live ammunition was fired into the crowd by troops. The troops began firing after protesters threw stones at them. Officials also said a security vehicle was shot at and attacked with petrol bombs.Meanwhile, a Saudi Arabian man has been arrested by the country’s religious police for allegedly using Facebook to
arrange dates with other men. If charged with being gay, the man could face massive fines, flogging, jail or death.
August 15th, 2011
According to Radio Netherlands Worldwide,
Saudi Arabian listeners have been unable to access their websites. While no official reason has been given for the block, the station believes that it
may be linked to a video posted on the Arabic version of the website. The video, posted on 15 July, showed a migrant worker being beaten. Earlier this year, Radio Netherlands Worldwide also reported on the exploitation and deplorable working conditions of domestic workers at the Saudi Embassy in The Hague.
June 2nd, 2011
Two Shiite bloggers who were
arrested for their coverage of peaceful demonstrations in Shia-majority area of
Qatif have been released by Saudi security authorities. The two young men, Mustafa Badr Al-Mubarak and Sayyid Hussein Kadham Al-Hashem, were arrested on 27 April 2011 when security forces broke into their homes and confiscated their laptops. Their blogs contained extensive coverage of their involvement in human rights activism and several peaceful demonstrations. A
new law passed in January 2011 requires anyone wishing to post material online to obtain a press license from Saudi authorities.
April 21st, 2011
A
Saudi Arabian writer and teacher has become the most prominent figure to be arrested in the country since protests started in February. Nadhir al-Majid was
detained on April 17 in the Persian Gulf city of al-Khobar. Rights groups have urged Interior Minister Prince Nayef al-Saud to release him immediately. Over
160 dissidents have been arrested in the last two months.
March 11th, 2011
Police in the eastern city of Qatif
opened fire on protesters and beat them with batons at a protest on Thursday, resulting in at least three people being injured. The protest was held to demand the release of prisoners that demonstrators say are being held without charge. The Saudi interior ministry recently
announced that all protests are illegal and security forces would use any measures to stop them from going ahead.
March 7th, 2011
Saudi Arabia’s interior ministry has announced a
ban on all protests and marches in the kingdom, warning that security forces will come down hard on any demonstrators. Thousands of additional
troops have been sent to the restive eastern province of the country. The statement came as opponents of the government called for a “day of rage” on Friday 11 March.
January 12th, 2011
Saudi Arabia’s already restricted cyberspace is now subject to new regulation that allows the state to directly supervise and
control internet material. The
law passed on 1 January 2011 requires anyone wishing to post material on-line to obtain a press license and to abide by content limitation regulations which ban “offending others”, “compromising the economy or security” and disobedience to Islamic Law. The Saudi authorities regularly harass journalists who challenge the states policies. Law professor
Mohammed Abdallah Al-Abdulkarim was detained in early December 2010 after writing an article on-line in criticism of the government.
