Osama Khalid Explained

Osama Khalid
Birth Date:1994 1, df=yes[1]
Nationality:Saudi Arabian
Criminal Charges:Swaying public opinion
Criminal Penalty:32 years
Criminal Status:Incarcerated

Osama Khalid (Arabic: أسامة خالد|ʾUsāma Khālid, pronounced as /ar/; born 19 January 1994) is a Saudi Arabian medical doctor and a Wikipedia administrator, who was sentenced to a 32-year prison sentence in 2020.[2] According to human rights activists, his arrest and prison sentence was because he contributed information deemed to be critical about the persecution of political activists in Saudi Arabia.[3] According to the joint statement by Washington-based whistleblower organization DAWN and Beirut based digital rights group SMEX, the arrest of Osama is speculated to be part of a crackdown on Wikipedia administrators.[4] However, the charges pressed on him by the Saudi regime are "swaying public opinion" and "violating public morals" by posting content "deemed to be critical about the persecution of political activists in the country".[5]

Arrest

According to the sources from DAWN and SMEX, Osama Khalid and a fellow Wikipedia administrator Ziyad al-Sofiani were arrested on the same day in 2020. The Specialized Criminal Court of Saudi Arabia, the counter-terrorism court of the country, initially sentenced him to five years in Al-Haer prison in Riyadh in summer of 2020. In September 2022, the court increased his sentence to 32 years for the same charges.[6]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Saudi Arabia: Birthday in jail: Saudi Wikipedian Osama Khalid Remains Unjustly Imprisoned on his 30th Birthday . Access Now . 28 January 2024 . en . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128082533/https://www.accessnow.org/press-release/saudi-arabia-osama-khalid-wikipedia/ . live .
  2. News: Saudi Arabia jails two Wikipedia staff in ‘bid to control content’ . 28 January 2024 . The Guardian . 5 January 2023 . 16 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230116221022/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jan/05/saudi-arabia-jails-two-wikipedia-staff-in-bid-to-control-content . live .
  3. News: Saudi Arabia 'infiltrated' Wikipedia to control content, activists say . 28 January 2024 . Middle East Eye . en . 1 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230401211457/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/investigation-concludes-saudi-arabia-infiltrated-wikipedia-agents-to-control-content . live .
  4. News: Activists say Saudi government ‘infiltrated’ Wikipedia, jailed two admins . 28 January 2024 . 28 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240128095629/https://www.timesofisrael.com/activists-say-saudi-government-infiltrated-wikipedia-jailed-two-admins/ . live .
  5. News: Belanger . Ashley . Wikipedia admin jailed for 32 years after alleged Saudi spy infiltration . 28 January 2024 . Ars Technica . 6 January 2023 . en-us . 19 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230119203556/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/01/wikipedia-admin-jailed-for-32-years-after-alleged-saudi-spy-infiltration/ . live .
  6. News: Saudi Arabia: Government Agents Infiltrate Wikipedia, Sentence Independent Wikipedia Administrators to Prison . 28 January 2024 . DAWN . 16 January 2023 . 6 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230306065805/https://dawnmena.org/saudi-arabia-government-agents-infiltrate-wikipedia-sentence-independent-wikipedia-administrators-to-prison/ . live .

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