gotsnowgotslush
skates like Eck
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2007
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People from all over the world are giving attention to the threat to free speech in Paris.
Saudi Arabia is where the whole system prevents free speech from being heard-
"Saudi authorities are ramping up their crackdown on people who peacefully criticize the government on the Internet"
Human Rights Watch recently warned that "Saudi authorities are ramping up their crackdown on people who peacefully criticize the government on the Internet." It said that judges and prosecutors are using "vague provisions of a 2007 anti-cybercrime law to charge and try Saudi citizens for peaceful tweets and social media comments."
Souad Al-Shammary
Wahhabi clergy have a worldview that insists on separating Muslims from non-Muslims. They consider a Muslim -- Sunni male -- supreme. To differentiate him from non-Muslims, they call on him to grow long beard.
Souad Al-Shammary known for her witty clarity spotted the contradiction and called the idea 'silly.'
She tweeted that "Jews, priests, Communists and Marxists" also wear beards.
How did the those in power respond to her joke ?
Saudi authorities blocked her bank account, stopped her salary, prevented her from registering one of her daughters in college.
She lost her job. She lost her pension.
They launched a smearing campaign against her on twitter and elsewhere.
A campaign of harassment was orchestrated targeting her children.
February 2013, a case was reportedly brought against her by religious clerics accusing her of insulting Islam.
She was banned from travelling since March 2013.
Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) condemned on Tuesday the arrest of Saudi women rights defender Souad Al-Shammary because of a tweet in which she describes Saudi society as “male-dominant.”
Al-Shammary was arrested and subject to her first interrogation session on 28 October 2014, at the Bureau of Investigation in Jeddah. Her lawyer was prevented from attending the session, said ANHRI. Authorities accused her of provoking rebellion and promoting cynicism towards religious texts and religious scholars.
January 9, 2015
Blogger Raef Badawi, gave free speech a space for expression. He was flogged after the weekly Friday prayers near Al-Jafali mosque in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.He was given 50 lashes. He is expected to have 20 weekly whipping sessions until his punishment of 1,000 lashes is complete.
He will be serving a 10-year sentence. He was forced to pay a huge fine.
Rael Badawi is the co-founder of the now-banned Saudi Liberal Network along with women's rights campaigner Suad al-Shammari, who was also accused of insulting Islam.
Loujain al-Hathloul
Maysa al-Amoudi
Saudi authorities in late December referred to the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh, which handles terrorism matters, the case of two Saudi women active in the campaign to allow women to drive.
Referral of the two women, Loujain al-Hathloul and Maysa al-Amoudi, appears to be based on statements they made on Twitter, not on the act of driving itself.
It follows the criminal conviction in October of three lawyers -- Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan, and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih -- for tweets that officials deemed critical of the Justice Ministry.
Al-Hathloul was stopped by border guards and her passport was confiscated for more than 24 hours when she attempted to cross the border Nov. 30 with a UAE driver's license in an act of defiance.
Al-Amoudi, a UAE-based Saudi journalist, was stopped when she went to deliver food and a blanket to al-Hathloul at the border, activists and relatives said. The women were formally arrested on Dec. 1.
Saudi Arabia is where the whole system prevents free speech from being heard-
"Saudi authorities are ramping up their crackdown on people who peacefully criticize the government on the Internet"
Human Rights Watch recently warned that "Saudi authorities are ramping up their crackdown on people who peacefully criticize the government on the Internet." It said that judges and prosecutors are using "vague provisions of a 2007 anti-cybercrime law to charge and try Saudi citizens for peaceful tweets and social media comments."
Souad Al-Shammary
Wahhabi clergy have a worldview that insists on separating Muslims from non-Muslims. They consider a Muslim -- Sunni male -- supreme. To differentiate him from non-Muslims, they call on him to grow long beard.
Souad Al-Shammary known for her witty clarity spotted the contradiction and called the idea 'silly.'
She tweeted that "Jews, priests, Communists and Marxists" also wear beards.
How did the those in power respond to her joke ?
Saudi authorities blocked her bank account, stopped her salary, prevented her from registering one of her daughters in college.
She lost her job. She lost her pension.
They launched a smearing campaign against her on twitter and elsewhere.
A campaign of harassment was orchestrated targeting her children.
February 2013, a case was reportedly brought against her by religious clerics accusing her of insulting Islam.
She was banned from travelling since March 2013.
Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) condemned on Tuesday the arrest of Saudi women rights defender Souad Al-Shammary because of a tweet in which she describes Saudi society as “male-dominant.”
Al-Shammary was arrested and subject to her first interrogation session on 28 October 2014, at the Bureau of Investigation in Jeddah. Her lawyer was prevented from attending the session, said ANHRI. Authorities accused her of provoking rebellion and promoting cynicism towards religious texts and religious scholars.
January 9, 2015
Blogger Raef Badawi, gave free speech a space for expression. He was flogged after the weekly Friday prayers near Al-Jafali mosque in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.He was given 50 lashes. He is expected to have 20 weekly whipping sessions until his punishment of 1,000 lashes is complete.
He will be serving a 10-year sentence. He was forced to pay a huge fine.
Rael Badawi is the co-founder of the now-banned Saudi Liberal Network along with women's rights campaigner Suad al-Shammari, who was also accused of insulting Islam.
Loujain al-Hathloul
Maysa al-Amoudi
Saudi authorities in late December referred to the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh, which handles terrorism matters, the case of two Saudi women active in the campaign to allow women to drive.
Referral of the two women, Loujain al-Hathloul and Maysa al-Amoudi, appears to be based on statements they made on Twitter, not on the act of driving itself.
It follows the criminal conviction in October of three lawyers -- Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan, and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih -- for tweets that officials deemed critical of the Justice Ministry.
Al-Hathloul was stopped by border guards and her passport was confiscated for more than 24 hours when she attempted to cross the border Nov. 30 with a UAE driver's license in an act of defiance.
Al-Amoudi, a UAE-based Saudi journalist, was stopped when she went to deliver food and a blanket to al-Hathloul at the border, activists and relatives said. The women were formally arrested on Dec. 1.
