Online Expression Rights Issues in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia authorities' imposition of high imprisonment and death penalties for online content has drawn global attention. Indeed, the country increasingly targets both Saudi and non-Saudi social media users for online expression, including tweets and other online activities. This article provides an examination of these recent developments, offering a comprehensive perspective on the topic.
Saudi Arabia's legal framework severely restricts freedom of expression. The Press and Publications Law prohibits publishing anything that could be prejudicial to the interests of the state or insult Islam. The Anti-Cyber Crime Law criminalizes online activities that involve mocking religious values and spreading "immoral" content. Additionally, vague counterterrorism laws are also used to crack down on dissent, classifying criticism of the government as a threat to national security. Overall, Saudi laws limit free speech both online and offline, with heavy penalties imposed on individuals who criticize religion, the monarchy, and the state.
In the past year, an appeals court sentenced Salma al-Shehab, a Saudi doctoral student studying in the United Kingdom, to a 34-year prison term on charges of disrupting social order and fabricating information through her Twitter activity. On the same day, Nourah bin Saeed al-Qahtani, another Saudi national, received a 45-year prison term on similar grounds.
The freedom of prisoners can be restrained even after their release. In 2022, the Saudi blogger Raif Badawi was released after 10 years in prison. However, he also received 50 lashes and was fined 1 million riyals (250,000€). The Saudi authorities banned him from foreign travel for 10 years, preventing him from reuniting with his family in Canada.
More recently, in July 2023, Saudi Arabia’s counterterrorism tribunal sentenced Mohammed Al Ghamdi to death for his tweets criticizing the Saudi government and expressing his support to prisoners sentenced to their opinions. Two months later, the UN urged Saudi Arabia to revoke his death sentence. The charges held against him included “betrayal of his religion, country and rulers”, “spreading false rumours with intent to disrupt public order and destabilise security” and “supporting terrorist ideology and a terrorist group”.
The death penalty remains an important issue in the country. In early September, Amnesty International published a report stating that 100 people had been executed since the beginning of the year. Such severe sentences highlight a critical lack of freedom of expression in the country.
Reports Without Borders (RSF) ranked the country 170th (out of 180) in its freedom of press index and stated that “Independent media are non-existent in Saudi Arabia, and Saudi journalists live under heavy surveillance, even when abroad”. In addition, the situation seems to have worsened since 2017, with the number of imprisoned journalists and bloggers tripling. Additionally, RSF ranks Saudi Arabia 170th, highlighting strong control of the media in the Kingdom.
According to the New York Times, the NSO group, a firm primarily known for its proprietary spyware Pegasus, cancelled a contract with Saudi Arabia in 2018 due to accusations that its hacking tools were being misused. In addition, CitizenLab suspected Saudi Arabia of using Cytrox’s Predator spyware for individual espionage and surveillance, including on journalists.
While Saudi Arabia has taken steps to open up society in recent years, such as allowing women to drive and loosening restrictions on public entertainment, the country's laws restricting free speech remain very restrictive. The government continues to view criticism and dissent as a threat to its power. Until these cybercrime and counterterrorism laws are reformed, and freedom of expression, both online and offline, is protected, Saudi Arabia is likely to remain under international scrutiny for its human rights record.