Saudi Artist Sentenced to 23 Years in Prison for Political Cartoons

 

A Saudi artist, Mohammed al-Hazza, has been sentenced to over two decades in prison for creating political cartoons that allegedly insulted the leadership of Saudi Arabia. The 48-year-old father of five was arrested in February 2018 during a violent raid by security forces, who stormed his home and ransacked his studio, according to the London-based Sanad Human Rights Organization.

Court documents revealed that al-Hazza faced charges related to "offensive cartoons" he produced for the Qatari newspaper Lusail, as well as social media posts that were deemed "hostile" towards Saudi Arabia and supportive of Qatar. Initially, he was sentenced to six years in prison by Saudi Arabia's Specialised Criminal Court, established to address terrorism-related cases. However, just as he was preparing for release this year, the case was reopened, leading to a revised sentence of 23 years, as reported by his sister, Asrar al-Hazza, from the United States.

"He was almost there... He almost left the prison. But then, out of nowhere, it was opened again and it was 23 years," she stated. Saudi authorities did not respond immediately to requests for comment on the case.

Sanad Human Rights Organization clarified that al-Hazza primarily worked for Lusail before the 2017 boycott of Qatar and only briefly after. They asserted that most of his cartoons focused on domestic Qatari issues and that prosecutors failed to present evidence proving that he created cartoons that were offensive to Saudi Arabia or that his social media posts supported Qatar during the boycott.

Under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has faced significant criticism for its crackdown on free speech, particularly online. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and ALQST, reported that the Saudi judiciary has convicted many individuals for expressing their views on social media, often labeling such expressions as terrorism-related offenses.

Samer Alshumrani, operations manager for Sanad, remarked that al-Hazza's case exemplifies the suppression of freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia, highlighting the politicized and non-independent nature of the judiciary. This harsh sentence for an artist comes shortly after Saudi Arabia was denied a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, raising further questions about its commitment to human rights.