Saudi Arabia: retired teacher has death penalty for social media posts quashed

Mohammad bin Nasser al-Ghamdi, 55, is still in detention and awaiting news of his fate

Al-Ghamdi’s brother, living in exile in UK, may have been the Saudi authorities’ real target  

‘The court must now end his long and painful ordeal by quashing his conviction and ordering his immediate and unconditional release’ - Dana Ahmed

Responding to news that a court in Saudi Arabia has quashed a death sentence against 55-year-old retired teacher Mohammad bin Nasser al-Ghamdi, Dana Ahmed, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Researcher, said:

“Mohammed bin Nasser al-Ghamdi’s so-called ‘crime’ was expressing his opinions on social media. 

“He should have never been prosecuted let alone sentenced to death in the first place. 

“While quashing his death sentence is a great relief for him and his family, the court must now end his long and painful ordeal by quashing his conviction and ordering his immediate and unconditional release.

“If the Saudi authorities are serious about their stated commitment to human rights reform, they must also immediately and unconditionally release all those detained for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression, and take effective steps to end the crackdown on dissent and the widespread use of the death penalty.”

According to well-informed sources, Saudi Arabia’s Court of Appeal has yet to impose a new sentence against al-Ghamdi, who is now awaiting news about his fate. 

One of Al-Ghamdi’s brothers - Dr Saeed bin Nasser al-Ghamdi, an Islamic scholar and Government critic living in self-imposed exile in the UK - believes the death sentence against Mohammed was an act of reprisal against him by the Saudi authorities for his political activism while based in the UK. Amnesty has documented numerous acts of reprisal against family members of Saudi dissidents, activists and human rights defenders in exile, including 40 cases of relatives of activists who found themselves - by no official order or other form of notification - under travel bans, effectively forcibly separating entire families.

Punished for online views

Saudi Arabia’s notorious Specialised Criminal Court convicted al-Ghamdi and sentenced him to death on 9 July 2023 on trumped-up terrorism-related charges solely for his online expression on Twitter and YouTube. On 29 May this year, the same court sentenced another brother of al-Ghamdi’s, Asaad bin Nasser al-Ghamdi, to 20 years in prison for social media posts criticising the Saudi government. Over the past two years, Amnesty has documented an escalating crackdown in Saudi Arabia against people voicing their opinions on social media. The Specialised Criminal Court, the country’s counter-terrorism court, has imposed punishments of up to 45 years in prison using vague provisions under anti-cybercrime and counter-terrorism laws.