Saudi Arabia declares online satire punishable offence

[Son of Jamin]

RIYADH (AFP) -

Saudi Arabia will punish online satire that "disrupts public order" with up to five years in prison, the public prosecutor said Tuesday, as the kingdom cracks down on dissent.

"Producing and distributing content that ridicules, mocks, provokes and disrupts public order, religious values and public morals through social media ... will be considered a cybercrime punishable by a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of three million riyals ($800,000)," the public prosecution tweeted late Monday.

The kingdom's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has drawn harsh criticism from rights groups over the targeting of human rights activists and political dissidents across the spectrum since his appointment in June 2017.

Saudi Arabia's legislation on cybercrime has sparked concern among international rights groups in the past.

Dozens of Saudi citizens have been convicted on charges linked to dissent under a previous sweeping law, particularly linked to posts on Twitter.

In September 2017, authorities issued a public call for citizens to report on the social media activities of their fellow citizens, under a broad definition of "terrorist" crimes.

Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor on Tuesday also announced it was seeking the death penalty in the case against Sheikh Salman al-Awda, a prominent Islamist cleric arrested last year along with 20 others.
https://www.france24.com/en/20180904-saudi-arabia-declares-online-satire-punishable-offence

So I guess Saudi Arabia and the establishment in the EU are like minded in many regards...

With the risk of receiving a five year sentence, I will end this post with a meme...

 

[hillelslovak87]

STOP BOOING!!!!

 

[JbModest]

Saudi gonna Saudi.

 

[all caps]

The USA is working on it's own satire crackdown, to be fair.

 

[JbModest]

STOP BOOING!!!!

Damn! I guess all Arabs look the same to me lol.

 

[Gutter Chris]

Damn! I guess all Arabs look the same to me lol.

Dude isnt even an arab

 

[JbModest]

Dude isnt even an arab

Could've fooled me. He's wearing a Keffiyeh.
What ethnicity is he?

 

[Gutter Chris]

Could've fooled me. He's wearing a Keffiyeh.
What ethnicity is he?

Italian

 

[GearSolidMetal]

Different judge, hard to culture.

 

[JbModest]

Italian

Hey, what does the green user name mean, if you're not a platinum member?

 

[Gutter Chris]

Hey, what does the green user name mean, if you're not a platinum member?

Far as I know I am a plat I just gave myself a custom title

 

[Fedorable]

we used to have specific places for satire. Now it's just the mainstream media.

 

[Metusalemi]

Those social media sites are private companys, they can do what they want.

 

[Prutfis]

So I guess Saudi Arabia and the establishment in the EU are like minded in many regards...

With the risk of receiving a five year sentence, I will end this post with a meme...

How is that like the eu? Are you talking about their copyright infringement laws? Totally the same

 

[2arctanx]

one step forward. 2 steps back. the so called prince is too hot headed which is great this will be his downfall.

 

[AgonyandIrony]

Saudi Arabia is the beeeest.

 

[Billy no mates]

Wow he's really pushing on with reforming that sandy shithole.....

 

[Son of Jamin]

How is that like the eu? Are you talking about their copyright infringement laws? Totally the same

I was facetious since I truly disliked Article 13.

 

[volodya]

I guess I'll just say what I usually do when I see stories like this...

LOL @saudiarabia

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

The USA is working on it's own satire crackdown, to be fair.

"It's frankly disgusting that the American people can speak or write satirically and somebody should look into it."