Saudi Arabia: Man Sentenced To Death Over Twitter Posts

Mohammad bin Nasser Al-Ghamdi’s brother, Dr Saeed bin Nasser al-Ghamdi, is an Islamic scholar and government critic living in self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom. He told Amnesty International that he believes that his brother’s death sentence was a reprisal for his activism.

Over the past two years, Amnesty International has documented an escalating crackdown in Saudi Arabia against individuals using social media and the internet to voice their opinions, which the death sentence against Mohammad bin Nasser al-Ghamdi - who has a total of just 10 followers on both of his anonymous Twitter accounts - also shows.

The Specialized Criminal Court has used vague provisions under the anti-cybercrime and counterterrorism laws which equate peaceful expression and online activity with “terrorism” to prosecute these individuals.

Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s top executioners. In 2022, the kingdom executed 196 people, the highest annual number of executions that Amnesty International has recorded in the country in the last 30 years. This number is three times higher than the number of executions carried out in 2021 and at least seven times higher than 2020. According to Amnesty International’s documentation, Saudi Arabia has executed at least 94 people so far this year.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence or other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to carry out the execution. As of today 112, countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes and more than two thirds in total are abolitionist in law or practice.