First Saudi blogger, Fouad al-Farhan, arrested

The BBC reports that Fouad al-Farhan is the first blogger from Saudi Arabia to be arrested, allegedly for the content of his blog.

Though it can’t be proven that he has been arrested as a direct result of what he blogs about “searching for freedom, dignity, justice, equality, public participation and the other lost Islamic values”, the Saudi authorities say that he is being questioned for “violating non-security regulations”.

However, his blog is highly political, and it would not be a surprise if his support for a group of political reformists who were arrested last year has landed him in hot water with the authorities.

The BBC estimates that there are some 500 bloggers in Saudi Arabia, most of whom blog anonymously and under pseudonyms.

Though Farhan was arrested on 10th December last year, it took the authorities two weeks to acknowledge that he was being held.

See Also
Tech Collisions

Yet another case around the globe where blogging can seriously affect your personal freedom.

(Via BBC News)

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Andy Merrett

Andy Merrett is a London-based full-time blogger writing for several Shiny Media technology blogs and various other projects. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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