Saudi man sentenced to 10 years in jail for tweeting about unemployment, human rights

A man who was reportedly arrested in Saudi Arabia over tweets he made complaining about unemployment and human rights issues in the country has been handed a 10-year prison sentence.

Abdullah Jelan, 30, was sentenced by Saudi Arabia's Specialised Criminal Court to 10 years in prison followed by a 10-year travel ban, according to ALQST, a human rights monitor in the country.

🚨 ALQST has learned that the SCC sentenced Abdullah Jelan to 10 years in jail and a travel ban of the same length.

Jelan, a @WCUofPA graduate who had been vocal on Twitter through an anonymous account, was arrested in May 2021 upon his return to #SaudiArabia from the US. pic.twitter.com/TUe7JrdpMu

— ALQST for Human Rights (@ALQST_En) November 14, 2022

Jelan was arrested at his home in the city of Medina on 12 May 2021. He was then transferred to the Dhahban Prison in Jeddah a few weeks later. On 21 July of the same year, Riyadh acknowledged that Jelan was detained in a response to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID).

"According to the Saudi government's response to the UN WGEID, Jelan is prosecuted under the Terrorism and Financing of Terrorism Act," ALQST wrote on its website.

The rights group said Jelan was held in solitary confinement with his legs tied together after his arrest in Medina. He was allegedly electrocuted during interviews and kicked and beaten by officials.

Jelan, who studied at West Chester University in the US under a Saudi scholarship program, had been vocal on social media under an anonymous account, ALQST said. 

His diploma was allegedly refused upon returning to his country and he found it difficult to get a job - a struggle he spoke about on social media.

"Abdullah Jelan’s sentence unfortunately does not come as a surprise, and once again illustrates the mounting repression and enduring brutality of the Saudi regime," ALQST told The New Arab.

"Cases like this should sound the alarm for anyone dealing with Saudi Arabia's legal system, which, without any transparency or due process guarantees, is able to sentence anyone to jail, even for peaceful tweets."

Saudi Arabia has a history of handing out hefty jail terms and travel bans to those perceived to be criticising the country on social media. These include the human rights activist and blogger Raif Badawi, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison, 1,000 lashes, a fine, and a 10-year travel ban upon the end of his jail sentence.

Badawi was publicly flogged 50 times in January 2015 but Saudi Arabia did not carry out the rest of his lashings following an international outcry. He was released from jail earlier this year after serving his prison sentence, but is still barred from leaving the country.