Awad al-Qarni was arrested in September 2017 and has been accused of spreading hostile rhetoric against Saudi Arabia. Image Courtesy: Twitter
In most countries, one can expect the punishment of death for crimes such as robbery and theft. However, in Saudi Arabia, a famous law professor has been sentenced to death for alleged crimes, including having a Twitter account and using WhatsApp to share news considered “hostile” to the kingdom.
Awad Al-Qarni, 65, said to be an important pro-reform intellectual with a strong two-million user following on Twitter, has been sentenced to death after he was arrested in September 2017 in a crackdown against dissent by the Saudi government under the new crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
But who is Awad Al-Qarni? What are his alleged crimes? Why does the Saudi kingdom view him as dangerous? We take a closer look and give you the answers.
Life and ‘crimes’ of Awad Al-Qarni
Awad Al-Qarni is a Saudi preacher and academic who worked at the Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh and the King Khalid University.
According to a report by Al Jazeera, Al-Qarni has written several books on Islamic jurisprudence and the Palestinian issue. He is also a trainer in neuro-linguistic programming.
Al-Qarni had also signed a statement with 25 other clerics condemning the 2003 invasion of Iraq and had also expressed his solidarity with Palestinians.
The 65-year-old cleric has also not shied away from voicing his opinions to the media and has been vocally critical of Saudi Arabia’s arrests and travel bans on intellectuals in 2012.
According to The Guardian, the charges against Al-Qarni reveal that he has used various social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Telegram to spread news “hostile” to the kingdom. The British newspaper reports that Al-Qarni admitted to having a Twitter account under his name — @ awadalqarni — and used it to express his views.
Court documents also reveal that he “confessed” to participating in a WhatsApp conversation, praising the Muslim Brotherhood.
Al-Qarni’s critics have portrayed him as dangerous preacher, spreading conspiracy theories and extremist rhetoric against modernity.
Following his arrest in 2017, Al-Qarni’s son, Nasser Al-Qarni left the kingdom in October last year and is now living in the UK and seeking his father’s release.
He recently posted on Twitter that Saudi Arabia had slipped in many ways. “Unfortunately, my country is falling down, not only in terms of human rights, but in all areas, socially, economically and politically.”
Saudi’s crackdown on dissent
Al-Qarni isn’t the only individual to be arrested for voicing his views on social media in Saudi Arabia. Last year, Salma al-Shehab, a Leeds PhD student and mother of two, received a 34-year sentence for having a Twitter account and for following and retweeting dissidents.
Another woman identified as Noura al-Qahtani was sentenced to 45 years in prison for using Twitter.
Multiple human rights groups and activists have reported on how the Saudi kingdom, headed by Mohammad bin Salman, has been cracking down on dissent — be it on social media or offline.
Human Rights Watch, the international monitor, has reported how the authorities continue to target prominent clerics, academics, women’s and human rights activists, leading businessmen and even other members of the royal family.
Simultaneously, Saudi Arabia has increased its financial stake in companies such as Twitter and Facebook, causing concern that they may be misusing their power to breach people’s privacy.
The news that Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz is Twitter’s second-largest shareholder after Elon Musk raised alarm bells at the US Capitol with Senator Chris Murphy calling for an immediate investigation into the national security implications of Saudi Arabia’s stake in Twitter.
In his letter, Murphy called Saudi Arabia “one of the most repressive countries in the world, with little to no tolerance for free expression.” He referred to the death of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident who was murdered at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
He further added, “Any potential that Twitter’s foreign ownership will result in increased censorship, misinformation, or political violence is a grave national security concern.”
The Saudi kingdom in the last year has seen a rise in executions. According to the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, the kingdom executed 147 people, including the mass execution of 81 people in one day.
Most of those put to death were not charged with the most serious crimes and were sentenced to ta’zir (discretionary) death penalties. Remarkably, this occurred nine days after a statement in which Mohammad bin Salman said that Saudi Arabia had abolished the death penalty except for one group mentioned in the Quran.
With inputs from agencies
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