Zania-Editor
A Saudi court has given a retired teacher named Mohammed al-Ghamdi a 30-year prison sentence for criticizing the government on social media. This comes just two months after his death sentence was canceled. His case has raised concerns about increasing repression in Saudi Arabia under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
In September 2023, the Crown Prince said he felt “ashamed” about the case and hoped for a better outcome. Mohammed was sentenced to death in July 2023 after being arrested in June 2022.
He faced charges for plotting against the government and supporting people called “prisoners of conscience,” like jailed clerics Salman al-Awda and Awad al-Qarni. His brother, Saeed al-Ghamdi, who lives in Britain, pointed out that Mohammed had only nine followers on social media.
Saeed criticized the Saudi judicial system, saying the changing decisions show how politicized it is, and insisted his brother should not have been arrested.
Another brother, Asaad al-Ghamdi, was recently given a 20-year sentence for similar reasons, but there has been no update on whether that sentence will be reviewed. The Saudi authorities have not commented on the matter.
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