Cartoonist sentencing shows Saudis' 'determination to silence any voice,' analysts say

The decision by Saudi authorities to sentence a cartoonist to an extra 23 years in prison marks an escalation in the kingdom’s suppression of dissent, analysts say. Mohammed al-Ghamdi, a cartoonist for Qatar-based Lusail newspaper, was already serving six years on a range of charges. But a court in October reopened the case and sentenced him to an additional 23 years without the possibility of appeal. Known as al-Hazza, al-Ghamdi gained prominence for cartoons that critiqued Saudi policies and highlighted sociopolitical issues in the Gulf. But his work, considered by some as sympathetic to Qatar during a politically tense period, was labeled as anti-state by Saudi authorities. Al-Ghamdi was arrested in 2018 on charges including alleged sympathy for Qatar and for producing what Saudi authorities said were 100 insulting drawings. At the time, he was sentenced to six years in prison and a travel ban. His case, along with that of blogger and podcast host Hatem al-Najjar, who was detained in January, suggest a broader strategy of repression that contradicts Saudi Arabia’s outward image of reform and modernization, analysts say. “The Saudi authorities’ conflation of journalistic activities with threats to national security reveals their determination to silence any voice that deviates from the state narrative,” said Yeganeh Rezaian, a researcher at the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ. “The severity of al-Ghamdi’s punishment underscores how this crackdown has expanded to include nontraditional journalists such as cartoonists, who globally often critique political power,” she told VOA. Since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman assumed greater powers in 2017, Saudi Arabia has seen an intensified crackdown on dissent. One of the most widely publicized cases is that of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who in 2018 was killed and dismembered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in an operation that U.S. intelligence concluded had been approved by the crown prince. The country is the ninth worst jailer of journalists, according to CPJ data, and ranks 166 out of 180 on the World Press Freedom Index, where 1 shows the best environment. Reporters Without Borders, which compiles the index, says independent media are “non-existent … and Saudi journalists live under heavy surveillance, even when abroad.” The Saudi Embassy in Washington did not respond to VOA’s requests for comment sent via email and the embassy’s website. Abdullah Alaoudh, senior director for countering authoritarianism at the U.S.-based nonprofit Middle East Democracy Center, told VOA that under the crown prince’s leadership, targeting and detaining journalists, activists and even royal family members has become routine. “Many journalists and activists have been targeted and detained. This has been continuous because there were no real consequences for such actions,” Alaoudh said. “We have documented and proved that many activists have been electrocuted, sexually harassed and tortured in jail. There are even businessmen and princes tortured. People have died under torture, and others have succumbed to medical negligence,” Alaoudh said. He believes the cases are intentionally publicized to create a chilling effect. Reports from rights organizations indicate that al-Ghamdi has been mistreated in custody, including allegations of torture and forced confessions. Alaoudh said international influence could help bring change. But “unfortunately, international leverage is being channeled into deals and transactions with the Saudi government, not human rights protections,” Alaoudh said. Reports of torture and forced confessions are prevalent in cases involving detained journalists in Saudi Arabia. “Authorities frequently employ these tactics to extract confessions and validate harsh sentences against individuals who have merely exercised their right to press freedom,” Rezaian said. Haydee Dijkstal, a barrister and nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told VOA that the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has also flagged a troubling pattern of arrests in Saudi Arabia. "The documented pattern of suppression has already broadly extended from activists and political opponents to ordinary citizens,” Dijkstal said. She cited the case of a person sentenced to death in 2023 for tweeting about government policy to just a small number of followers. “The U.N. and international community must insist that Saudi Arabia comply with the remedies accompanying the U.N. findings, and that it genuinely respect and protect these most basic rights,” Dijkstal said. Saudi Arabia is an ally of the United States and several European Union countries. Recently, Salman attended the EU-Gulf Summit in Brussels. “It is disheartening that the U.S. and the EU, who purport to champion press freedom globally, are not prioritizing the press freedom situation in the kingdom in their dealings with MBS,” said Rezaian, referring to the crown prince by his initials. “They have failed to publicly criticize the sentencing of a cartoonist without legitimate justification.” Rezaian believes the silence emboldens the Saudi government and exposes a troubling double standard in international diplomacy. “This hypocritical stance on Saudi Arabia's abysmal record on press freedom only emboldens MBS to further tighten his control over media expression in the kingdom,” she said. In December, Saudi Arabia will host the Internet Governance Forum, an international event that focuses on human rights and inclusion in the digital age. “It is deeply concerning to see Saudi Arabia hosting such a forum while simultaneously incarcerating journalists who express their ideas online,” Rezaian said.