A court verdict against three attorneys in Saudi Arabia who poked fun at the Ministry of Justice on Twitter is a reminder on how free speech in the United States isn’t universally acknowledged.
The three attorneys were sentenced recently to overall fines of 1 million Saudi riyals and a total media ban after criticizing the Ministry of Justice via Twitter. The attorneys were also ordered to craft an apology to the Justice Minister.
From complaints made by the Ministry of Culture and Information’s legal group, the Ministry of Justice alleged the attorneys of making public tweets that ruin the reputation of the Ministry of Justice and using cartoons, and articles to poke fun at them.
Abdulrahman Al Rumaih, Bander Alnogaithan, and Abdulrahman Al Sobaihi were the lawyers accused.
A statement indicated there would be an appeal of the verdict.
One of the accused said they plan on writing to the king to be involved in the case, saying what the committee mentioned is nothing but lies and defamation.
Comments