Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Reality is that there is a very limited retreat of the vehicles, with the occupation forces providing cover undeer fire up to Salah al-Din Street
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Claims that the Israeli occupation has withdrawn from areas in the neighborhoods of al-Zaytoun, al-Tuffah, and al-Shujaiya are false
Hamas: The two delegations stressed that any negotiations must lead to the achievement of our people's goals and aspirations, foremost among which is ending the war and the complete withdrawal of enemy forces
Hamas: A delegation from the Hamas leadership, led by the head of the leadership council, Mohammad Darwish, met with an Islamic Jihad delegation, headed by its Secretary-General, Ziyad al-Nakhalah

KSA infiltrates Wikipedia, jails two top admins to control free speech

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 6 Jan 2023 10:54
  • 1 Shares
4 Min Read

The two individuals are identified as Osama Khalid and Ziyad al-Sofiani, with the former receiving a 32-year sentence and Sofiani receiving an eight-year sentence.

  • x
  • Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales attending a hackathon in 2019 in KSA (MEMO)
    Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales attending a hackathon in 2019 in KSA (AFP)

Wikipedia has reportedly been "infiltrated" by Saudi Arabia which has imprisoned two of its senior admins in an attempt to exploit the free online encyclopedia's content, according to a joint statement on Thursday by Beirut-based SMEX, which advances digital rights across the Arab region, and the Washington-headquartered Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) activism group, which was founded by slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi. 

"Wikimedia's investigation revealed that the Saudi government had infiltrated the highest ranks in Wikipedia's team in the region," DAWN and SMEX's statement read, adding that Saudi Arabia hired a number of its citizens to act as "agents" in order to facilitate the infiltration.

16 users were banned last month by Wikimedia for "engaging in conflict of interest editing on Wikipedia projects in the MENA region," as part of efforts to control the content in favor of the kingdom's desires., which Wikimedia confirmed in its probe: "a number of users with close connections with external parties were editing the platform in a coordinated fashion to advance the aim of those parties."

Read next: Amnesty International calls on Ronaldo to address Human Rights in KSA

Dissent as a crime 

The two top admins confirmed and identified by the DAWN-SMEX joint statement were placed under arrest in September 2020. The two individuals were identified as Osama Khalid and Ziyad al-Sofiani, with the former receiving a 32-year sentence and Sofiani receiving an eight-year sentence.

DAWN's director of research for the Gulf region, Abdullah Alaoudh, relayed to AFP: "The arrests of Osama Khalid and Ziyad al-Sofiani on one hand, and the infiltration of Wikipedia on the other hand, show a horrifying aspect of how the Saudi government wants to control the narrative and Wikipedia," 

Counterterrorism laws were altered by KSA back in 2017 to entail dissent as a punishable crime, stipulating penalties of up to 10 years in prison for offending both the king and the crown prince, and "other acts of terrorism" would receive the death penalty.

Hundreds of activists, bloggers, academics, clerics, and other individuals have been detained by Saudi authorities ever since the law was amended for political activism. Recently, Saudi journalist Turki Al-Shalhoub, who previously triggered a public outcry for exposing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s contentious plans against highly revered sites in KSA, tweeted in late December that the State Security Court had passed the ruling regarding the professor at the media faculty of Umm al-Qura University in Mecca, Muhammad bin Mohsin Basurrah. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

بسبب هذه التغريدات، حكمت محاكم التفتيش #السعودية على المحاضر في قسم الإعلام في جامعة أم القرى الاستاذ محمد بن محسن باصرة بالسجن 30 سنة!!! pic.twitter.com/J3ubVCkQF0

— تركي الشلهوب (@TurkiShalhoub) December 27, 2022

A Saudi opposition activist, Abdul Hakim bin Abdul Aziz, also revealed that the Saudi authorities had arrested his son, Yasser, from his university, as part of the Kingdom's aggressive crackdown against activists that criticize the performance of the ruling regime on social media.

Bin Abdul Aziz considered that the arrest of his son exposes "the oppression and tyranny of the ruling regime in Saudi Arabia and is a desperate attempt to force me to remain silent about the violations that the country is witnessing."

Over the past years, the country also redefined its anti-terrorism laws to persecute peaceful activists, repressing freedom of expression.

Read more: UN denounces Saudi 34-year sentence against female activist over tweet

  • Wikimedia
  • Ziyad Al-Sofiani
  • media
  • Wikipedia
  • KSA
  • Free Speech
  • Osama Khalid
  • Saudi Arabia

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS