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
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

Saudi scholar faces potential death penalty over social media use

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 15 Jan 2023 21:12
3 Min Read

Prior to being detained, Awadh Al-Qarni was regarded as a high-profile scholar who possessed a wide social media following of 2 million Twitter followers.

  • x
  • Nasser Al-Qarni, the son of imprisoned academic Awadh Al-Qarni, says he fled Saudi Arabi last year to seek asylum in the UK. (Source: Ryan Gallagher/Bloomberg)
    Nasser Al-Qarni, the son of imprisoned academic Awadh Al-Qarni, says he fled Saudi Arabi last year to seek asylum in the UK. (Source: Ryan Gallagher/Bloomberg)

Awad Al-Qarni, a 66-year-old Saudi academic who was arrested in September 2017 as part of a crackdown on critics against the Saudi government, is facing the death penalty for the alleged crime of using Facebook and Twitter to spread the news that is considered "hostile," according to The Guardian who obtained access to court papers.

His son, Nasser, who has fled to the UK in search of asylum, has shared with The Guardian some details of the grim sentence that has yet to be formally agreed upon by prosecutors. 

Prior to being detained, Awadh Al-Qarni was regarded as a high-profile Muslim scholar who possessed a wide social media following of 2 million Twitter followers. Following his arrest, he was portrayed as a dangerous preacher by the state-owned Saudi media. 

Awad has been in prison for years now without trial or justice and his situation is similar to that of dozens of other scholars and experts.

For instance, Leeds Ph.D. student Salma al-Shehab who is a mother of two received a 34-year sentence for having a Twitter account.

Another woman, Noura al-Qahtani, received a 45 years sentence for the same crime. 

Read more: KSA sentences Tunisian doctor to 15 years for reacting to a Tweet

But prosecution papers shown by Awadh's son indicate that the use of social media and other platforms has been outlawed since the start of Prince Mohammed bin Salman's reign.

Over the past few years, the Saudi government and several Saudi investors have increased their purchases of stocks in major US social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

The country's sovereign wealth fund has likewise increased its stake in Meta.

According to court documents, Al-Qarni was charged with using a social media account under his own name (@awadalqarni) and used it "at every opportunity … to express his opinions".

The court papers also say that Al-Qarni confessed to engaging in a group on WhatsApp and was accused of praising the Muslim Brotherhood in video recordings. 

The use of Telegram was also mentioned in the charges. 

Saudi cleric Awad Al-Qarni has been detained since September 2017 and could face execution for the “crime” of tweeting.

Watch Nasser Al-Qarni, who recently applied for asylum in the UK, describe his father’s harrowing arrest: pic.twitter.com/sTK69GJL4B

— The Freedom Initiative (@thefreedomi) October 6, 2022

Read more: KSA sentences Tunisian doctor to 15 years for reacting to a Tweet

  • Awad Al-Qarni
  • Mohammed Bin Salman
  • Saudi Arabia

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

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