How Twitter threw memer to dogs: After getting 20 yrs in Saudi jail man goes missing; family says killed

From 2008 to 2014, Abdulrahman Al-Sadhan, a human rights activist, used his Twitter account to express critical views about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to a follower base of over 160,000 individuals. His views, were mostly in the form of sarcastic comments and memes. When he returned to Saudi Arabia in 2015, his previously anonymous account was allegedly exposed by former Twitter employees who were allegedly spying for the Saudi regime to suppress dissident voices.   Now, Areej Al-Sadhan, Abdulrahman’s sister, has filed a lawsuit against Twitter, claiming that the platform violated its terms of service by disclosing her brother’s “identifying information to the government of Saudi Arabia,” despite his Twitter speech being entitled to protection. In an affidavit supporting her complaint, Areej asserted that this situation poses a threat to every Twitter user. She claimed that as a consequence, Saudi Arabia kidnapped her brother, subjected him to torture, imprisoned him, and, after a sham trial sentenced him to 20 years in prison, solely for criticizing the repressive actions of the Saudi government on his Twitter account. Incarcerated under exaggerated charges Abdulrahman was reportedly charged in secret within a specialized criminal court in Saudi Arabia. The charges were said to be connected to his tweets, which were accused of being “contemptuous of religion,” “adopting an extremist approach,” and “offending state institutions and officials” through the spread of false rumours about them. These charges indicate that the Saudi authorities considered his online activities as violations related to religious matters, extremism, and defamation of state institutions and officials. Areej filed a lawsuit in a US district court in San Francisco on behalf of Abdulrahman, arguing that her brother is incapacitated and unable to assist their attorney. This is due to his disappearance following his imprisonment sentence imposed by Saudi Arabia, leaving him unable to make his case. According to the lawsuit, there has been no communication from him since 2021. Areej expressed in her affidavit that the Saudi government has actively prevented any contact between Abdulrahman and his family, as well as denied him access to legal representation. She further stated her uncertainty about his current well-being, indicating that she is unsure if he is still alive. Areej also highlighted the immense challenges she has faced since speaking out against Saudi repression, describing her life as “living through hell.” Areej, a US citizen, makes the allegation that she has been persistently stalked, threatened, and specifically targeted by the agents of Saudi Arabia since she started advocating for her brother’s release. This includes getting constant rape and death threats on Twitter from Saudi Arabia’s digital army.   The last time Areej’s family saw him, Abdulrahman showed distressing physical conditions. The document mentions that he experienced difficulties with walking and focusing, had missing toenails, and had several bruises and other signs of torture.   Allegedly, the secret police of the KSA boasted about obtaining confidential information from Twitter. Furthermore, they reportedly broke Abdulrahman’s hand while taunting him with the statement, “this is the hand you write and tweet with."   Twitter hired two Saudi spies As stated in the lawsuit, Twitter’s privacy policy from 2015 was cited, indicating that the platform committed to not sharing private user information. This policy may have led Abdulrahman to believe that there was no risk of his critical tweets being linked back to him.  

We may share or disclose your non-private, aggregated or otherwise non-personal information, such as your public user profile information, public Tweets, the people you follow or that follow you, or the number of users who clicked on a particular link (even if only one did), or reports to advertisers about unique users who saw or clicked on their ads after we have removed any private personal information (such as your name or contact information).

A specific provision highlighted by Areej’s lawyers pointed out that Twitter would retain user information if they deemed it reasonably necessary to ensure the safety of individuals. **Also read: Two former Twitter employees have been accused of spying for Saudi Arabia** In 2019, two former Twitter employees, Ahmad Abouammo and Ali Alzabarah, were arrested on charges of espionage on behalf of the Saudi government. These individuals violated Twitter’s privacy agreement by sharing private user data. Ahmad Abouammo and Ali Alzabarah were working at Twitter since 2014, and reportedly collaborated with a Saudi government official identified as Al Asaker, as mentioned by The Washington Post. They allegedly shared internal Twitter data concerning users who were considered “of interest” to Al Asaker and the Saudi Royal Family. Al Asaker is often considered to be Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s “invisible hand.” This data allowed for the tracking of the account users’ movements. Some of these accounts contained images that could potentially be interpreted as security threats, including pictures of improvised explosive devices. Twitter subsequently removed these posts following emergency takedown requests from the Saudi government. Other accounts were simply critical of Mohammed bin Salman or the Saudi government. **Also read: Saudi spying case: Who is Ahmad Abouammo, the ex-Twitter employee who’s been sentenced to 42 months in US prison?** Areej alleges that these former employees unlawfully transmitted sensitive information. This includes the names, birthdates, device identifiers, phone numbers, IP addresses, and session IP histories associated with approximately 6,000 accounts that posted critical content about the Saudi regime. The ex-employees are accused of accessing data from these accounts a total of 30,892 times and sharing confidential information, including details about anonymous users like Abdulrahman. According to an affidavit submitted by the FBI during the espionage trial, it was revealed that Abouammo received payments of at least $300,000 from Al Asaker for his involvement. The FBI stated that Abouammo attempted to conceal these payments by creating fraudulent invoices through his personal company. Additionally, the indictment suggests that Abouammo received gifts, including a watch estimated to be worth around $20,000, as part of the arrangement Twitter’s soft spot Saudi money According to The Washington Post, it is expected that Twitter will argue that its employees acted covertly and without approval in the spying incident. However, Areej’s complaint alleges that the FBI had alerted Twitter to the Saudi spying as early as 2015, implying that Twitter was aware of the situation. **Also read: Saudi Arabia has most active Twitter users; India 21st in the world** The complaint further asserts that Twitter had financial incentives to turn a blind eye to the issue due to Saudi Arabia being its most significant market in the Middle East. The lawsuit also highlights a meeting in 2015 between then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It is claimed that during this meeting, discussions revolved around training and qualifying Saudi employees. The lawsuit adds that Saudi Arabia has made substantial investments in Twitter, positioning itself as the platform’s second-largest shareholder, after Elon Musk. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.