{UAH} Saudi Arabia to punish “content that ridicules, mocks and disrupts religious values” with 5 years, $800,000 fine

JIHAD WATCH

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Saudi Arabia to punish "content that ridicules, mocks and disrupts religious values" with 5 years, $800,000 fine

SEP 5, 2018 3:24 PM BY ROBERT SPENCER21 COMMENTS

"Producing and distributing content that ridicules, mocks, provokes and disrupts public order, religious values and public morals through social media … will be considered a cybercrime punishable by a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of three million riyals ($800,000)."

Remember this one the next time you hear about how the Kingdom is "modernizing." But the implications are larger than that. Right now, nearly everyone takes for granted that one must not ridicule or mock or otherwise provoke Islam. Can criminal penalties be far behind in the West? Ridiculous, right? Preposterous, no? Is it really, however, nowadays when having the wrong political opinions can get one deplatformed and denied services by the social media and online fundraising giants? If it is already an open-and-shut case, as far as the social media giants are concerned, that it is wrong to criticize Islam and violent jihad, then criminal penalties are just the next step. Watch this space — while you can.

"Saudi Arabia declares online satire punishable offence," AFP, September 4, 2018:

RIYADH (AFP) – Saudi Arabia will punish online satire that "disrupts public order" with up to five years in prison, the public prosecutor said Tuesday, as the kingdom cracks down on dissent.

"Producing and distributing content that ridicules, mocks, provokes and disrupts public order, religious values and public morals through social media … will be considered a cybercrime punishable by a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of three million riyals ($800,000)," the public prosecution tweeted late Monday.

The kingdom's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has drawn harsh criticism from rights groups over the targeting of human rights activists and political dissidents across the spectrum since his appointment in June 2017….

Dozens of Saudi citizens have been convicted on charges linked to dissent under a previous sweeping law, particularly linked to posts on Twitter.

In September 2017, authorities issued a public call for citizens to report on the social media activities of their fellow citizens, under a broad definition of "terrorist" crimes….

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