A court in Saudi Arabia upheld a 20-year prison term imposed on Abdulrahman al-Sadhan, a Saudi aid worker who had criticized the government on Twitter, drawing a rare public rebuke from the US in another sign of tension between the Biden administration and the kingdom. Abdulrahman al-Sadhan's sister Areej al-Sadhan, a dual Saudi-US citizen, talked to The World's host Marco Werman about the situation.
In this photo provided by the family of Abdulrahman al-Sadhan, Abdulrahman al-Sadhan poses with his sister Areej Al Sadhan for a graduation photo, at Notre Dame de Namur University, a private Catholic university, in Belmont, California, May 4, 2013. A court in Saudi Arabia has upheld a verdict that sentences the Saudi aid worker who criticized the government on Twitter to 20 years in prison and an additional 20-year travel ban after his release, drawing criticism from the Biden administration on Oct. 6, 2021.
Family of Abdulrahman al-Sadhan via AP
A court in Saudi Arabia upheld a 20-year prison term imposed on a Saudi aid worker who had criticized the government on Twitter, drawing a rare public rebuke from the US in another sign of tension between the Biden administration and the kingdom.
The ruling, confirmed late Wednesday, also upheld a 20-year travel ban on Abdulrahman al-Sadhan after his release. The case against him may have roots in an elaborate ploy that began in Silicon Valley and sparked a federal case against two Twitter employees accused of spying for Saudi Arabia. The men allegedly accessed the user data of over 6,000 Twitter accounts, including nearly three dozen usernames the kingdom had wanted disclosed.
Abdulrahman al-Sadhan's family has said his identity appears to have been among those leaked to Saudi authorities as the person behind an anonymous Arabic Twitter account that had amassed a large following and was critical of the government. His case is the latest example of the continued crackdown against those who criticize the Saudi government and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It also shows the lengths to which the authorities have gone to silence them.
Abdulrahman al-Sadhan's case stands out because of the severity of the sentence and its possible links with an FBI investigation and federal case in California against the two men accused of spying on behalf of the kingdom while working at Twitter with an alleged third accomplice. The Saudi appellate judges handed down their ruling Tuesday. Saudi authorities have not commented on the legal proceedings, including the most recent ruling. The court did not make the decision public.
Abdulrahman al-Sadhan's sister Areej al-Sadhan, a dual Saudi-US citizen, talked to The World's host Marco Werman about the situation.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.