Cartoonist sentencing shows Saudis' 'determination to silence any voice,' analysts say

The determination by Saudi authorities to condemnation a cartoonist to an other 23 years successful situation marks an escalation successful the kingdom’s suppression of dissent, analysts say.

Mohammed al-Ghamdi, a cartoonist for Qatar-based Lusail newspaper, was already serving six years connected a scope of charges. But a tribunal successful October reopened the lawsuit and sentenced him to an further 23 years without the anticipation of appeal.

Known arsenic al-Hazza, al-Ghamdi gained prominence for cartoons that critiqued Saudi policies and highlighted sociopolitical issues successful the Gulf. But his work, considered by immoderate arsenic sympathetic to Qatar during a politically tense period, was labeled arsenic anti-state by Saudi authorities.

Al-Ghamdi was arrested successful 2018 connected charges including alleged sympathy for Qatar and for producing what Saudi authorities said were 100 insulting drawings. At the time, helium was sentenced to six years successful situation and a question ban.

His case, on with that of blogger and podcast big Hatem al-Najjar, who was detained successful January, suggest a broader strategy of repression that contradicts Saudi Arabia’s outward representation of betterment and modernization, analysts say.

“The Saudi authorities’ conflation of journalistic activities with threats to nationalist information reveals their determination to soundlessness immoderate dependable that deviates from the authorities narrative,” said Yeganeh Rezaian, a researcher astatine the Committee to Protect Journalists, oregon CPJ.

“The severity of al-Ghamdi’s punishment underscores however this crackdown has expanded to see nontraditional journalists specified arsenic cartoonists, who globally often critique governmental power,” she told VOA.

Since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman assumed greater powers successful 2017, Saudi Arabia has seen an intensified crackdown connected dissent.

One of the astir wide publicized cases is that of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who successful 2018 was killed and dismembered astatine the Saudi consulate successful Istanbul successful an cognition that U.S. quality concluded had been approved by the crown prince.

The state is the ninth worst jailer of journalists, according to CPJ data, and ranks 166 retired of 180 connected the World Press Freedom Index, wherever 1 shows the champion environment. Reporters Without Borders, which compiles the index, says autarkic media are “non-existent … and Saudi journalists unrecorded nether dense surveillance, adjacent erstwhile abroad.”

The Saudi Embassy successful Washington did not respond to VOA’s requests for remark sent via email and the embassy’s website.

Abdullah Alaoudh, elder manager for countering authoritarianism astatine the U.S.-based nonprofit Middle East Democracy Center, told VOA that nether the crown prince’s leadership, targeting and detaining journalists, activists and adjacent royal household members has go routine.

“Many journalists and activists person been targeted and detained. This has been continuous due to the fact that determination were nary existent consequences for specified actions,” Alaoudh said.

“We person documented and proved that galore activists person been electrocuted, sexually harassed and tortured successful jail. There are adjacent businessmen and princes tortured. People person died nether torture, and others person succumbed to aesculapian negligence,” Alaoudh said.

He believes the cases are intentionally publicized to make a chilling effect.

Reports from rights organizations bespeak that al-Ghamdi has been mistreated successful custody, including allegations of torture and forced confessions.

Alaoudh said planetary power could assistance bring change. But “unfortunately, planetary leverage is being channeled into deals and transactions with the Saudi government, not quality rights protections,” Alaoudh said.

Reports of torture and forced confessions are prevalent successful cases involving detained journalists successful Saudi Arabia.

“Authorities often employment these tactics to extract confessions and validate harsh sentences against individuals who person simply exercised their close to property freedom,” Rezaian said.

Haydee Dijkstal, a barrister and nonresident elder chap astatine the Atlantic Council, told VOA that the U.N. Working Group connected Arbitrary Detention has besides flagged a troubling signifier of arrests successful Saudi Arabia.

"The documented signifier of suppression has already broadly extended from activists and governmental opponents to mean citizens,” Dijkstal said.

She cited the lawsuit of a idiosyncratic sentenced to decease successful 2023 for tweeting astir authorities argumentation to conscionable a tiny fig of followers.

“The U.N. and planetary assemblage indispensable importune that Saudi Arabia comply with the remedies accompanying the U.N. findings, and that it genuinely respect and support these astir basal rights,” Dijkstal said.

Saudi Arabia is an state of the United States and respective European Union countries. Recently, Salman attended the EU-Gulf Summit successful Brussels.

“It is disheartening that the U.S. and the EU, who purport to champion property state globally, are not prioritizing the property state concern successful the kingdom successful their dealings with MBS,” said Rezaian, referring to the crown prince by his initials. “They person failed to publically knock the sentencing of a cartoonist without morganatic justification.”

Rezaian believes the soundlessness emboldens the Saudi authorities and exposes a troubling treble modular successful planetary diplomacy.

“This hypocritical stance connected Saudi Arabia's abysmal grounds connected property state lone emboldens MBS to further tighten his power implicit media look successful the kingdom,” she said.

In December, Saudi Arabia volition big the Internet Governance Forum, an planetary lawsuit that focuses connected quality rights and inclusion successful the integer age.

“It is profoundly concerning to spot Saudi Arabia hosting specified a forum portion simultaneously incarcerating journalists who explicit their ideas online,” Rezaian said.