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Two men were found guilty in Saudi courts this week for, among other offenses, messages
they posted on Twitter. On Monday, one Saudi man was sentenced to
10 years in prison for using Twitter to encourage protests and undermine the country's leadership,
according to Saudi Arabian state news agency SPA.
"The accused had sent invitations via Twitter to participate in protests and gatherings
against the Kingdom," read SPA's statement, quoting Saudi Justice Ministry spokesman Fahad
Al-Bakran. Al-Bakran added how the unnamed man, already
serving a three-year jail sentence, was convicted of utilizing websites that are "hostile to
the government and that promote deviant ideologies." Saudi officials often use the phrase "deviant
ideologies" when describing al Qaeda or al Qaeda-linked groups.
On Sunday, another man, accused of insulting King Abdullah and inciting protests via social
media sites like Twitter, was sentenced to eight years in jail.
According to SPA, he's also barred from travel and from posting messages on social media
sites for eight years after his release. The man, also unidentified by SPA, was found
guilty of "inciting relatives of Saudis arrested for security reasons to protest their imprisonment
by tweeting and via posting videos on sites like YouTube."
Al-Bakran added the man had been arrested once before for similar offenses, but was
released after signing a pledge never to do so again.
Both sentences come just days after Saudi Arabia officially declared the Muslim Brotherhood
to be a terrorist organization.