{"items":[{"item":{"name":"Ahmad al-Faqih","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Ahmad-al-Faqih.jpg","status":"Under Arrest","date_from":"2010-01-01","date_to":"2010-01-01","blog_url":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZoPGSCbOu0g","background":"

According to Arab News<\/a>, the 27-year-old Saudi, Ahmad al-Faqih, has been arrested in January for making and publishing a humoristic and sexually charged<\/a> video on Youtube<\/a> and has been charged with morality crimes<\/a>. The young man was impersonating a police officer and flirting with a person off-camera.<\/p>\n

The video depicts a young Saudi man dressed in a police uniform inside a vehicle flirting with the man holding the camera. He asks the cameraman for his driver\u2019s license and offers \u201ccomfort.\u201d<\/p>\n

At one point, he waves around what appears to be a real handgun. Later in the approximately two-and-a-half-minute video on YouTube, he lifts up his shirt and rubs his chest. The video quickly spread online and through SMS until police detained both men involved in the act. Attempts have been made to block the video from being viewed in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

According to Police Lt. Nawaf Bouq, who told Arab News<\/a>, the young man is facing three charges: One is for homosexuality; the other for general security; and the third is for impersonating a police officer.<\/p>\n

On March 22nd, 2010, Pinkpaper.com<\/a> reported that Ahmad al-Faqih was sent to jail for a year, fined $1,330, and will be lashed 1,000 times for appearing in a gay-themed video.<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/ahmad-al-faqih","city":"Jeddah","country":"Saudi Arabia","lat":"21.543486","lon":"39.172989"}},{"item":{"name":"Fouad Al Farhan","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/fouad_saudiarabia_080214_main.jpg","status":"Released","date_from":"2007-12-10","date_to":"2008-04-25","blog_url":"http:\/\/www.alfarhan.org","campaign_url":"http:\/\/en.freefouad.com\/","background":"

Prominent Saudi blogger Fouad Al Farhan<\/a> was freed today. He is back home in Jeddah after 137 days in custody. Alfarhan was arrested on 10 December 2007 for unspecified “violation of non-security regulations.”<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/fouad-al-farhan","city":"Jeddah","country":"Saudi Arabia","lat":"21.534847","lon":"39.166260"}},{"item":{"name":"Hamoud Bin Saleh","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Hamoud_Bin_Saleh.jpg","status":"Unknown","date_from":"2009-02-28","date_to":"2009-03-12","blog_url":"http:\/\/christforsaudi.blogspot.com","background":"

According to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information<\/a> (ANHR), Saudi authorities have arrested the 28-year-old blogger Hamoud Bin Saleh<\/a> and blocked his blog Masihi Saudi<\/a><\/em> (A Saudi Christian). The ANHR adds further that blogger Hamoud Bin Saleh was arrested \u201cdue to his opinions and announcement at his blog that he converted from Islam to Christianity.\u201d<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/hamoud-bin-saleh","country":"Saudi Arabia","lat":"25.799891","lon":"44.296875"}},{"item":{"name":"Hamza Kashgari","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/hamza-kashgari-300x197.jpg","status":"Threatened","date_from":"2012-02-08","date_to":"2012-02-08","campaign_url":"http:\/\/supporthamza.wordpress.com\/","background":"

Hamza Kashgari is a Saudi blogger and journalist who is currently facing extradition to Saudi Arabia from Malaysia, where he fled on \nFebruary 8 after tweets he wrote about the Prophet Mohammed provoked \nclerics to demand he be tried for apostasy and members of the public to \ncall for his murder. After arriving in Malaysia on his way to a third \ncountry, however, he was arrested by security officials at Kuala Lumpur \nairport, according to a report<\/a> from Human Rights Watch. Kashgari is currently under threat of extradition to Saudi Arabia.  The Guardian<\/em> has reported<\/a> Malaysian sources as stating that the request for extradition came from Interpol, a charge that Interpol denies.<\/p>\n

Kashgari was a columnist for Jeddah-based daily Al Bilad<\/em> \nuntil last week when, following public outrage over the tweets, Saudi \nMinister of Culture and Information Abdul Aziz Khoja gave orders that \nKashgari \"not write in any Saudi paper or magazine.\"  Ironically, Khoja \nalso tweeted the order.  Although Kashgari retracted his statements, \ndeleted his Twitter account, and apologized for the comments, threats to\n his life continued unabated, with his home address posted online and a \nmonetary reward offered to his killers.<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/hamza-kashgari","city":"Jeddah","country":"Saudi Arabia","lat":"21.543333","lon":"39.172778"}},{"item":{"name":"Raafat Alghanem","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/rafaat.jpg","status":"Under Arrest","date_from":"2009-07-29","date_to":"2009-07-29","blog_url":"http:\/\/www.elaphblog.com\/raafat","campaign_url":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/group.php?gid=120750990763","background":"

(ANHRI\/IFEX) - According to AHNRI's information, on 29 July 2009 Saudi security arrested Syrian blogger Raafat Al Ghanem and detained him in an unknown location. The 25-year-old is a Saudi resident and owner of the blog \"Defaf\", http:\/\/www.elaphblog.com\/raafat<\/a> . <\/p>\n

Al Ghanem, who is living in Saudi Arabia with his family, had gone to the passports administration office in Ryiadh upon a request from his father. While there, he was arrested by the Saudi investigative police and taken to an unknown location. On the evening of the same day, police officers went to the blogger's house and confiscated his hard disk. <\/p>\n

Al Ghanem contributes to both Saudi and Syrian net forums and often criticises social and political situations in both countries. He signed an \"Appeal To The Custodian Of The Two Holy Mosques To Release The Blogger Laitaibi And The Writer Khaled Omair\", both detained since the beginning of 2009 in Saudi Arabia, as they were planning a demonstration in Riyadh calling for an end to the war in Gaza. The appeal was signed by nearly a hundred Arab writers and media figures as well as Arab human rights organisations. Al Ghanem also posted articles criticizing the practices of the Commissioners for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice organization (1), and the mutaween (2). <\/p>\n

The last article Al Ghanem posted on his blog, entitled \"Eunuchs Playing Heroes\", was deleted immediately after his arrest, which suggests that he may have been tortured by the security forces for the blog's password or that the administration of the Elaph site is responsible for deleting this last article. <\/p>\n

ANHRI denounces the continued policy of the Saudi security forces to arrest activists and bloggers and to detain them in unknown locations. The organisation urges the Syrian government to not keep quiet about this extreme violation against a Syrian citizen. <\/p>\n

ANHRI asserts that disclosing the oppressive practices of the Saudi security forces has readily become an item on ANHRI's priority list for the very near future. ANHRI will continue to monitor the Saudi government atrocities while the government does not abide by the law.<\/p>\n

BACKGROUND:\n(1) Commission for the Promoting of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (CPVPV): \nThe religious police in Saudi Arabia are employed in a direct order of command from the king. They are tasked with enforcing Sharia as defined in Saudi Arabia. In addition to having the power to arrest anyone engaged in inappropriate contact between the sexes, they can also enforce Islamic dress-codes and store closures during prayer time, and prohibit the consumption or sale of alcoholic beverages. In addition to this, they actively prevent the religious practices of other religions within Saudi Arabia. <\/p>\n

(2) Mutaween: \nThe Mutaween in Saudi Arabia are tasked with enforcing Sharia as defined by the government, specifically by the Commission for the Promoting of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (CPVPV). The Mutaween of the CPVPV consists of more than 3,500 officers in addition to thousands of volunteers - often accompanied by a police escort. <\/p>\n

SOURCE\nArabic Network for Human Rights Information \n19-26 July St., Downtown, 4th Floor, Flat 55 \nCairo \nEgypt \ninfo (@) anhri.net \nPhone: +20 227 736177 \nFax: +20 227 736177<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/raafat-alghanem","city":"Riyadh","country":"Saudi Arabia","lat":"24.388378","lon":"46.837463"}},{"item":{"name":"Roshdi Algadir","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/rochd-algadir.jpg","status":"Released","date_from":"2008-11-04","date_to":"2008-11-04","blog_url":"http:\/\/aroshdi.maktoobblog.com\/","background":"

According to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information<\/a> (ANHRI), blogger Roshdi Algadir was arrested by the Hisba apparatus in Saudi Arabia on 4th November 2008. He was taken from his place of work in Al-Dammam city, held for three hours, beaten up and forced to sign an agreement never again to publish his work on the internet. The reason behind the attack is a poem that Algadir has posted on his blog: aroshdi.maktoobblog.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Roshdi Algadir, winner of an international award for his collections of poetry, had posted some of them on his blog. Following this he was surprised by members of the Hisba apparatus who snatched him from his work, beat him and accused him of apostasy.<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/roshdi-algadir","city":"Al-Dammam","country":"Saudi Arabia","lat":"26.332807","lon":"50.163574"}},{"item":{"name":"Sheikh Mekhlef bin Dahham al-Shammari","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Al-Shammari_0.jpg","status":"Under Arrest","date_from":"2010-06-15","date_to":"2010-06-15","blog_url":"http:\/\/www.saudiyoon.com\/","campaign_url":"http:\/\/www.rasid.com\/artc.php?id=38976","background":"

According to HRW<\/a> the prominent Saudi human rights activist, Sheikh Mekhlef bin Dahham al-Shammari, 57, who is being held in Dammam General Prison, has been arrested by police in the town of Khobar on May 15, 2010, \"over articles he had published attacking hard-line religious views, and briefly detained him, releasing him on bail. One month later, on June 15, criminal investigation officers again arrested al-Shammari, in Jubail, and detained him in the Khobar police station. Then on June 20, the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution registered case number 2029\/255\/31 against him with the charge of \"annoying others,\" according to his file in Dammam General Prison, to which he was moved in early July.\"<\/p>\n

In his April 18, 2009 article<\/a>, \"My Dear Christian,\" al-Shammari contrasted the work of an American Christian who was killed while working to protect Palestinian Muslim children with the conditions imposed by Saudi Muslim charities that recipients must exhibit proper Islamic conduct.<\/p>\n

In an article<\/a> on December 24, 2009, al-Shammari praises Britain's Prince William for sleeping one night on the street with homeless people in freezing temperatures, and at the same time deplores the fact that no Saudi prince or businessman has spent even three hours in a poor family's home.<\/p>\n

In a March 2, 2010 article, al-Shammari jokes about \"annual greed\" when the government doles out money as reward to \"loyal\" citizens, but without any discernible criteria for who receives the money, or how much.<\/p>\n

On March 28, under the title \"Excuse Me, Your Princely Highness, but You Have Failed,<\/a>\" al-Shammari describes promised tourism projects that failed to materialize under a Saudi tourism official, Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abd al-\u2018Aziz, and says, \"I don't know why they lie to us and then ask us to trust them.\"<\/p>\n

Two articles criticize conservative religious views. On January 1, al-Shammari took issue<\/a> with a description by a Sunni preacher, Muhammad al-\u2018Arifi, of the revered Shia leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani as an \"obscene, irreligious atheist.\"<\/p>\n

And in an April 23 article<\/a>, a reporter quotes al-Shammari decrying controversial religious figures - Yusif al-Ahmad, Abd al-Rahman al-Barrak, Nasir al-\u2018Umar, Muhsin al-\u2018Awaji, and Muhammad al-Nujaimi, who is a government employee - for their opposition to reform, neglect of pressing problems such as unemployment and poverty, and insistence instead on the importance of \"moral\" questions such as the mixing of men and women.<\/p>\n

<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/sheikh-mekhlef-bin-dahham-al-shammari","city":"Khobar","country":"Saudi Arabia","lat":"26.289926","lon":"50.213379"}}]}