169 Final Project

Saudi Arabia is an economically advanced country with rich cultures and traditions. Their government is run as a monarchy with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salam Al Saud as their current ruler. The country’s constitution is based on Islam and the Quran. Despite its extensive history, as I researched more and more about the country I quickly discovered that censorship and the country’s excessive violence against journalists are severe issues citizens face in their everyday lives. According to a data report by Freedom House in 2017, Saudi Arabia ranked a global freedom score of 8/100 and an internet freedom score of 24/100. Currently, in 2023, the rankings have not changed much. Saudi Arabia’s rank for internet freedom stayed the same and the global freedom score decreased to 7/100. It makes sense that Saudi Arabia’s overall score for global and internet freedom is low. Almost all media in Saudi Arabia is state-run. The monarchy holds heavy influence over all broadcasts and news publications. In 2012, there was a royal decree that amended press law to criminalize any hearsay against the government and its officials. Said crimes can be punishable with fines or even a forced shutdown of the media outlet. Journalists who speak out against the government are often imprisoned with unjust prison sentences and face restrictions such as travel bans or their assets are frozen. Overall, the government holds dictatorial control over any media expression, and often times Saudi Arabian citizens and journalists have to face those severe punishments.

Saudi Arabia is a country that is well known for its traditional norms and strict laws that restrain citizens from being able to express their free will. As I’ve mentioned before I have been particularly interested in researching Saudi Arabia’s long history of censorship and the extreme measures they will take to ensure that any of those who speak against the kingdom are punished accordingly and are used as a warning to others not to follow the same path. In an overall sense, freedom of speech is nonexistent in Saudi Arabia. For media outlets in Saudi Arabia, self-censorship is vital. Even privately owned media outlets are still required to follow the Crown Prince’s guidelines. Those that are publicly owned have to submit their daily reports to the Ministry of Information for approval. Those who even choose to produce somewhat “neutral” news stories regarding the government is automatically flagged as a potential suspect. This makes it extremely impossible for independent journalists even to exist. Journalists in Saudi Arabia, even those with dual citizenship, have been imprisoned for sentences of up to 35 years for speaking out against the government. An article published by Reporters without Borders goes into great detail about the history of the extreme lengths the kingdom will take to ensure journalists are never heard. On July 28, 2022, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed Bin Salman met with the president of France to discuss internal relations. However, the article points out that many countries have recently overlooked the cruel actions of Saudi Arabia in order to reestablish an economical relationship. Since the crown prince’s ascendance to the throne, 27 journalists have been arrested and charged with extreme sentencing. The article mentions Raif Badawi who served a 10-year sentence for insulting the Islam religion. He is a Saudi Writer who created and founded the website Free Saudi Liberals where he and others wanted a platform to discuss religious and social topics relating to Saudi Arabia. Shortly after creating said website, he faced a lot of backlash from the government. His assets were frozen and he was banned from leaving Saudi Arabia, a ban that is still in place today. The government had also accused him of renouncing his religion. He was initially imprisoned in 2012 and was finally released in March 2022. However, the travel ban is still intact and his wife and three children who currently reside in Canada have been begging for the ban to be lifted with no response from the government. Although the government has been releasing some journalists, others continue to be convicted. Yemeni journalist Ali-Aboluhom was convicted in October 2022 for apostasy and is currently serving a 15-year sentence. Apostasy is the renouncement of one’s religion and in Saudi Arabia, it is punishable by death. Another journalist, Ahmed Ali Abdulgaldir, a Sudanese journalist, was convicted for insulting the government and is currently serving a four-year sentence.

Saudi Arabia has had a long-known history of cruel punishments. One of the major incidents that really demonstrated to the world just how far the government is willing to go is the death of Khashoggi in October 2018. Khashoggi was a Saudi Arabian journalist based out of the U.S. He very vocally spoke out against Saudi Arabia’s continued disregard for human rights in the Washington Post. He had been very close to the royal family for years however, he went to the U.S. so he could speak out against the government and what he’s seen. Khashoggi died while visiting the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey. He was forced to visit the consulate to pick up documents in order to marry his Turkish fiancee. Saudi Arabian officials said that he died during a fight with Saudi Arabian government officials who ordered his return back to Saudi Arabia. However, after further investigation, it was shown that Khsagoshi was drugged and died of an overdose. His body was then dismembered and disposed of after all the security cameras had been coincidentally turned off. 11 individuals were put on trial for the murder, five were given the death penalty, three were imprisoned with prison sentences totaling 24 years, and the rest were found not guilty. Khashoggi’s death caused an uproar worldwide. Many say that the government ordered the assassination and that the trials were not a true reflection of justice and the truth. Throughout all of this, the Crown Prince denied any knowledge of a premeditated murder. The Crown Prince is listed in Reporters Without Borders list of “Predators of Free Press” and is described as a barbarian. Saudi Arabia will go to extreme lengths to cover up any hearsay of the government and holds so much power that the death of Washington Post editorialists and the imprisonment of several journalists will never face the proper justice it deserves.

Saudi Arabia manipulates almost all media content in its country however they also heavily influence the media even on a global scale. In 2015, Wikileaks, backed by Reporters without Borders, leaked several important documents that exposed the way the Saudi Arabian government exerts its control. In said documents, it was shown how Saudi Arabia shows its “support” to foreign news stations through subscriptions or funding. In 2011, the Saudi embassy in London wanted to fund Wesal Farsi TV, which was speaking out against the Saudi Arabian government. In return for their funds, Saudi Arabia was able to appoint a representative to its board of governors and the station promised to respond to Iranian criticism of the Saudi Arabian government. Another incident was revealed when the Financial Times in London was pressured by Saudi’s government to close its Riyadh bureau and renounce its correspondent because they were publishing supposed lies about Saudi Arabia. Government officials even threatened to take legal proceedings if the media outlet did not issue an apology for falsifying information. A Lebanese news station called Al Safir published a story about Osama Bin Laden and the Wahhbis, which is a fundamentalist movement that believes in the literal interpretation of the Quran and was questioned by the Saudi Arabian ambassador in Lebanon for its misleading information about Saudi Arabia. Clearly, Saudi Arabia doesn’t only have power over the media in their own country. They use several tactics such as monetary incentives or the pressure of fear from local embassies to ensure that the image of the Saudi Arabian government isn’t tainted even on a global scale.

Overall, the issue of censorship and violence against journalists is an issue that has been rampant and will continue to be so in the future. Due to the government’s chokehold on all media being released about the government, it is hard for readers to determine what information is accurate and what has been tampered with. Saudi Arabia’s censorship is deeply rooted in the goal of protecting the values of the Quran so I do not personally see Saudi Arabian citizens getting more internet freedom in the near future. Despite this, it is important that we recognize and spread awareness about the treatment of journalists and its citizens in Saudi Arabia.

Sources:

Assigned, Not Yet. “Raif Badawi.” USCIRF, 3 Apr. 2023, https://www.uscirf.gov/religious-prisoners-conscience/current-rpocs/raif-badawi.

“Jamal Khashoggishoggishoggi: All You Need to Know about Saudi Journalist’s Death.” BBC News, BBC, 24 Feb. 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45812399.

“Mohamed Bin Salman.” RSF, https://rsf.org/en/protagonist-mohamed-bin-salman.

“Saudi Crown Prince in Paris, despite Khashoggi Murder and 27 Journalists in Prison.” RSF, https://rsf.org/en/saudi-crown-prince-paris-despite-Khashoggishoggishoggi-murder-and-27-journalists-prison.

“Saudi Arabia: Freedom in the World 2023 Country Report.” Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/country/saudi-arabia/freedom-world/2023.

“Analyses – Wahhabism | PBS – Saudi Time Bomb? | Frontline.” PBS, Public Broadcasting       Service, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saudi/analyses/wahhabism.html.

“How Saudi Arabia Manipulates Foreign Media Outlets.” RSF, https://rsf.org/en/how-saudi-arabia-manipulates-foreign-media-outlets.