He criticized corruption and human rights violations. In Saudi Arabia, an opponent of power has been sentenced to death for his criticism of the regime published on social networks. Mohammed al-Ghamdi was tried in July by the Specialized Criminal Court, a court established in 2008 to handle terrorism-related cases but also widely used to try political dissidents and human rights activists.
The charges against him included conspiracy against Saudi leaders, undermining state institutions and supporting terrorist ideology, according to sources familiar with the case. Kingdom authorities did not respond to requests for comment.
94 executions since the beginning of the year
According to Saeed al-Ghamdi, brother of Mohammed and activist in exile, the case was based at least in part on messages published on the social network X (ex-Twitter), criticizing the government and expressing support for “prisoners of conscience”. , such as clerics Salman al-Awda and Awad al-Qarni. Mohammed al-Ghamdi’s account on X had only nine subscribers, however, according to the Gulf Center for Human Rights.
“The Saudi courts are stepping up their repression and lifting the veil on their false promises of reform,” reacted Lina al-Hathloul, communications manager for the London-based human rights association ALQST. “How can the world believe that the country is reforming when a citizen is going to have his head cut off for tweeting on an anonymous account with less than ten followers? she wondered.
The wealthy Gulf monarchy is one of the countries with the most capital punishment. Some 147 people were executed there in 2022, and 94 since the start of this year, according to an AFP tally.