|
Arrested Saudi Reformist Blogger Being Held Without Bond, At Unknown Location
The Arab Network for Human Rights Information has condemned the December 10 arrest of Saudi blogger Fuad Al-Farhan, who had called for reform in Saudi Arabia. He is being held without bond at an unknown location. Al-Farhan, known as the "dean of the Saudi bloggers," is considered one of the most important Saudi and Arab bloggers, and is known for his serious writing and support for reform in his blog at http://www.alfarhan.org. Al-Farhan had anticipated the arrest, writing that he had learned of an official order for his arrest and adding that it was because he had "been writing about political prisoners, and [the authorities] believe that I am engaged in a propaganda campaign to defend these prisoners and promoting their cause." It is standard practice for Saudi authorities to release peaceful bloggers advocating reform in the kingdom after a few days; Al-Farhan has now been held for two weeks. Al-Farhan, 32, is the director of Smart Info in Jeddah, and holds an MS in computer science from the U.S. Sources: http://www.aafaq.org/english/aafaq_today.aspx?id_news=112, December 27, 2007; http://www.hrinfo.net/, December 24, 2007; http://www.alfarhan.org.
Posted at: 2007-12-28
| 
