Saudi cartoonist gets 23 years in prison: rights group

A Saudi artist has been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for political cartoons that allegedly insulted the Gulf kingdom’s leadership, his sister and a rights group said this week.

The case against 48-year-old Mohammed al-Hazza adds to concerns about freedom of expression under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as Saudi Arabia – the world’s largest crude oil exporter – tries to open up after years of isolation for tourists and investors.

The father of five was arrested in Saudi Arabia in February 2018 in a “violent raid” in which security forces forced their way into his home and ransacked his studio, the London-based Sanad Human Rights Organization said in a statement.

A court document seen by AFP says the charges against him relate to “offensive cartoons” he produced for Qatari newspaper Lusail, as well as social media posts that were allegedly “hostile” towards Saudi Arabia and Qatar supported.

Hazza’s arrest came less than a year after Saudi Arabia and several allies cut ties with Qatar, claiming the country supported extremists and was too close to Iran – accusations Doha denied.

The countries restored ties in January 2021.

Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court, which was established in 2008 to handle terrorism-related cases, initially sentenced Hazza to six years in prison.

But this year, as Hazza prepared to be released, the case was reopened and he was sentenced to 23 years, his sister Asrar al-Hazza told AFP by telephone from the United States.

“He was almost there… He almost left prison. But then, out of nowhere, it was opened again and it lasted 23 years,” she said.

Saudi authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the case on Wednesday. Sanad said in his statement that Hazza worked for Lusail mainly before the 2017 boycott “and only shortly after” and that most of his cartoons concerned domestic Qatari issues.

The group said prosecutors presented no evidence of cartoons offensive to Saudi Arabia or social media posts supporting Qatar during the boycott.

Under Prince Mohammed, Saudi Arabia has been criticized for what activists describe as a fierce crackdown on even vaguely critical online expressions.

Over the past two years, the Saudi judiciary has convicted “dozens of individuals and imposed lengthy prison sentences for their statements on social media,” human rights groups Amnesty International and ALQST said in April.

Saudi officials say the suspects committed terrorism-related crimes.

“The case of Mohammed al-Hazza is an example of the suppression of freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia, where no one has been spared, including artists,” Sanad manager Samer Alshumrani told AFP.

“This is supported by the politicized, non-independent judiciary in Saudi Arabia.”