Saudi Crackdown: Rights Activist Sentenced to Six Years in Jail over Tweets Criticizing War on Yemen
Local Editor
A Saudi court sentenced an activist to six years in prison over criticizing Riyadh's human rights violations and the country's three-year war on Yemen.
According to London-based Saudi rights group ALQST, the Saudi court sentenced rights activist Issa al-Nukheifi to six years in prison on Wednesday over tweets criticizing the Saudi war on Yemen and insulting the Saudi ruling system over its decisions, criminal proceedings and security procedures.
Al-Nukheifi was also accused of re-tweeting anti-government posts and receiving money transfers from an inmate still serving a sentence.
Detained in December 2016, al-Nukheifi was sentenced to a six year ban on social media as well as a six year travel ban outside of the country after his prison term ends.
He was previously imprisoned in 2012 over similar charges and was released in April 2016, only to be arrested eight months later.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International called for al-Nukheifi's immediate release.
"Instead of engaging with activists on reforms, the authorities are going after them one by one, with almost all of the country's human rights activists now silenced or imprisoned," Dana Ahmed, the Amnesty's campaigner on Saudi Arabia said.
For its part, the Saudi Ministry of Interior has declined to comment on the issue.
The Saudi-led war has killed at least 13,600 people in Yemen and devastated much of the country's infrastructure, including hospitals, schools and factories, which has been reduced to rubble due to the war.
Moreover, Riyadh has imposed a tight blockade on nearly all Yemeni air, land and sea ports, prompting human rights and charity groups to raise the alarm over the deteriorating situation in the country.
According to the UN, Yemen is experiencing "the world's largest humanitarian crisis" and the "worst cholera epidemic" as a result of the Saudi-led war.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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