Blogger Arrested In Saudi Arabia

January 2, 2008 · Filed Under Legal News, World News

Fouad al-Farhan is one of the few bloggers in Saudi Arabia to actually use his real name. Not coincidentally, he’s also apparently the first blogger to be arrested in the Saudi Kingdom.

The Saudi English daily, Arab News, said al-Farhan had “violated non-security regulations.” The paper said the 32-year-old Jeddah resident was arrested at his office Dec. 10 and taken to his home where police conducted a search. There were no other details.

Following the arrest, al-Farhan’s friends who are now running his Web site, posted a letter allegedly from the blogger claiming he was told by an official there was an Interior Ministry order “to investigate me and they will pick me up anytime in the next two weeks.”

In it, he also said he believed Saudi authorities were after him because he “wrote about political prisoners in Saudi Arabia.”

Al-Farhan added that officials asked him to sign an apology but that he wasn’t ready to do that.

“An apology for what? Apologizing because I said the government is liar when it accused those people of supporting terrorism,” he said.

As for al-Farhan being certain as to who is or is not a terrorist I’m not so sure about, but obviously he should have the right to say it.

Blogging is actually a very popular activity in Saudi Arabia and the arrest of al-Farhan is widely perceived as a warning to other bloggers, which under the circumstances is probably a pretty accurate perception.

Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Monsour al-Turki said the blogger might be released on Wednesday but did not elaborate.

-Chris Jones