Saudi court sentences brother of prominent cleric to death for tweets

Saudi Criminal Court has sentenced brother of prominent cleric  to death over tweets against corruption and for defending other imprisoned preachers during interrogations.

“The Specialised Criminal Court in Riyadh headed by judge, Awad al Ahmari, handed my brother, Mohammad al Ghamedi, a death sentence following five tweets criticising corruption and human rights violations,” Saudi preacher Saeed bin Nasser al Ghamedi tweeted.

He stated that his brother, a retired teacher, defended detained Saudi scholars Awad al Qarni, Salman al Awda, Ali al Omari and Safar al Hawali during interrogation.

Saeed al Ghamedi pointed out that the court “did not consider all the medical reports proving his chronic neurological diseases, and did not pay attention to his old age and sickness, nor to the fact that his account has only nine followers.”

Al Ghamedi, in his tweet, appealed to everyone who has any ability to help free his brother from “the unjust and unfair ruling.”

The ruling against Mohammad al Ghamdi, made in early July nearly a year after his arrest in June 2022, was confirmed on Friday by UK-based advocacy groups Alqst and the Sanad Rights Foundation.

READ: Saudi woman gets 45-year prison term for social media posts