RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — One day in November 2015, Saad Almadi typed a 14-word post on Twitter about the deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
“Mohammed bin Salman has taken over the economy, defense and everything under the king,” he Writtenanswered a professor who was a scathing critic of the kingdom’s monarchy.
As an Arab-American citizen living in Florida, Mr. Almadi had little reason to believe his post would attract attention. He’s a retired project manager, not an activist, and his words are largely true – Prince Mohammed has been in control of many levers of power since his father’s death. he became king that year. By 2017, he had dismissed a cousin to become the heir to the throne.
However, the tweet resurfaced as evidence seven years after Mr Almadi, 72, was arrested during a visit to Saudi Arabia. Along with other Twitter posts he wrote criticizing the Saudi government – and an “offensive photo” of Prince Mohammed saved on his phone – the tweet was seen as evidence that he “adopted a terrorist agenda by defaming symbols of the state” and “supported a terrorist ideology,” according to court documents.
His prosecutor demanded a severe punishment, “to rebuke him and deter others.” In October, Mr. Almadi was sentenced to 16 years in prison, which was extended on 8 February to 19 years after he appealed.
“My father was hardly a dissident,” said his son, Ibrahim Almadi, describing him as an open-minded man who has spent his retirement traveling, traveling, and traveling. hiking and wine tasting. He is now being held at Al-Ha’ir Prison, a facility in the Saudi capital Riyadh that houses members of Al Qaeda along with political activists.
Saudi Arabia has always been an absolute monarchy with limited freedom of speech. But 10 years ago, Mr. Almadi’s Twitter account, which has less than 2,000 followers, may have prompted a warning or an interrogation. Under Prince Mohammed, now prime minister, harsher punishments are being imposed on citizens who criticize their government, while defendants on trial become less and less prominent.
“Hala Aldosari, a women’s rights activist who left Saudi Arabia in 2014 to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship in the United States, said she never felt safe enough to return.
Since then, Prince Mohammed has rendered the conservative caliphate almost unrecognizable, creating seismic changes – some of which activists like Ms Aldosari have spent years campaigning.
He laid out an ambitious plan to diversify the oil-dependent economy and end a series of religious and social restrictions that many Saudis find stifling. Women, ban from driving to 2018, working hours at Amazon delivery driver, managing director And ambassador. Music, once banned in public, is now playing in dimly lit restaurants where couples flirt. The sexism that has shaped public life for decades has been erased.
At the same time, the modest space for political discourse has shrunk.
“It was a bittersweet moment in history, when you see the fruits of your mobilization have somehow paid off, but for the wrong reason,” Ms. Aldosari said. “People are being shut down or silenced in exchange for giving them certain rights.”
Since 2017, Saudi authorities have arrested hundreds of public figures in the political sphere, including Snapchat influencers, religious clerics, billionaires, and several brothers. prince’s surname. The murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 by Saudi agents in Istanbul, which sparked international outrage, is the most dramatic example of a broader crackdown that has continued extensive practice since his death.
The authorities have paid special attention to Twitter, which is widely used in the kingdom.
Noura al-Qahtani, who runs an anonymous Twitter account, was among many people brought to trial last year in connection with social media activity. On her account, where she has about 600 followers, she called for anti-government protests, criticized some measures to liberalize society and wrote that Crown Prince Mohammed was “not good enough to be a prince”. “.
After a court convicted her of “challenging the faith and justice of the king and crown prince” and “supporting the ideology of those who attempt to disrupt public order,” among other charges, she was sentenced to 13 years in prison. On appeal, she begged for mercy, saying she was nearly 50 years old and had five children to care for, according to a copy of her ruling. Instead, the jury extended her sentence to 45 years in prison.
Around the same time, Salma al-Shehab, a Saudi postgraduate at the University of Leeds in the UK, was sentenced to 34 years in prison, largely in connection with following Saudi dissidents on Twitter and sharing their posts, according to the report. a copy of her judgment.
The court sentenced both women under anti-terrorism and cybercrime laws. Both are entitled to an additional penalty at the discretion of the referee.
A Saudi official said in a statement to The New York Times that the government is studying and rolling out new measures to strengthen human rights, including changes to the justice system. However, Saudi Arabia “maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism,” the official said. spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with government protocol.
The official did not respond to questions about specific prisoners, including Mr. Almadi, Ms. al-Qahtani and Ms. al-Shehab, saying only that “individual cases of violation of national law are well distinguished. clear with moderate views.”
What we consider before using anonymous sources. Do the sources know the information? What is their motivation to tell us? Have they proven reliable in the past? Can we verify the information? Even after satisfying these questions, The Times still uses anonymous sources as a last resort. Reporters and at least one editor know the identity of the source.
However, a review of the Twitter accounts of the detainees – which form the basis of their indictment – did not reveal posts claiming support for militant groups or advocating violence. force, except for a vague information. tweet al-Qahtani’s book mentions “removing this tyrant from the face of the earth,” without mentioning the name. Instead, their prosecutors cited posts critical of the government or members of the royal family and attributed them with views related to terrorism that threatened national security, according to documents by the court. court.
Until recently, prison sentences longer than 20 years were rare in the kingdom, and Saudis with American citizenship or ties to local elites, like Mr. relationships to protect themselves.
Taha al-Hajji, a Saudi lawyer living in exile in Germany, said: “One of the merits of Mohammed bin Salman is that he has created equality without injustice for all.
The “red lines” restricting freedom of expression were also more apparent under previous rulers: royalty, kings, Muslims. Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Institute of Arab Gulf States in Washington, said many people now “have absolutely no idea” what is allowed.
“It was designed to create an atmosphere of intimidation, in the political register, to inoculate the regime,” he said.
In one 2018 interviewPrince Mohammed denied creating an atmosphere of fear. He added, if he had “a small price” to pay to “eliminate extremism and terrorism without civil war, without stopping the country from developing, with unceasing progress in every element”.
Many Saudis are deeply concerned by the persecution, even if it does not affect them personally. However, their country’s rapid transformation, which brought many rewards and distractions, was also widely welcomed. High oil prices last year helped boost the economy by more than 8%, the fastest among the G20 industrialized nations.
Salman Al-Ansari, a Saudi political analyst, said: “The kingdom is in a sensitive historical transition in all respects. “No one can deny the speed with which reform is taking place. But like anything else, reform comes with a cost.”
Some Saudis believe the trade-off is worth it. For others, including Miss Aldosari, it was a betrayal.
“This is not what we wanted,” she said. “We aspire to have a community where we are heard, seen, respected and included in the decision-making process.”
Aldosari blamed American and European foreign policies for the escalation of repression, saying foreign governments had promoted other goals — like persuading Arab governments to normalize relations. Israel, or ensure a stable oil market — regardless of human rights.
The Biden administration is committed to putting human rights “at the heart” of US foreign policy. When President Biden visited Saudi Arabia last summer and clashed with Prince Mohammed, Saudi dissidents saw it as a retreat.
“Promoting human rights in Saudi Arabia is a top priority for the United States,” the State Department said in a statement, noting that US officials “frequently raised” cases, including the case of Mr. Almadi, Ms. al-Shehab and Ms. Al-Shehab. al-Qahtani, with Saudi officials. “We continue to have significant concerns about imposing severe sentences on the exercise of freedom of expression.”
There is also a growing number of Saudis living in exile in the United States, unable to reunite with their families. Among them is Maha al-Qahtani, whose husband, Mohammed al-Qahtani, was a prominent Saudi political activist. (They are not related to Noura al-Qahtani.)
As a professor of economics, al-Qahtani co-founded the independent human rights organization organization in 2009. In 2013, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Maha al-Qahtani eventually settled in the United States with their five children, counting the years until her husband’s sentence ended in November.
In October, they were preparing for his release, collecting gifts they had bought while he was in prison, when al-Qahtani stopped calling home. Maha al-Qahtani sought help from every authority she could reach, but found no explanation. Mr. al-Qahtani has indeed disappeared.
“This is the father of my children, my husband, my love,” she said in a phone interview, her voice cracking. “Where are you?”
Karen Zraick Contribution reports from New York.
