Saudis face punishment if they violate press laws abroad

Saudi nationals will face punitive action even if they violate their country’s press laws from outside the country, a top official has warned.

Judge Abdul Aziz al-Mohanna, head of the committee for looking into media violations at Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture and Information, said: “If a citizen publishes anything in foreign media, in violation of Saudi laws, he or she will not be allowed to go scot free without being punished.”

According to local media, al-Mohanna made these remarks during a recent presentation on “Press Law: A legal vision.”

He said the law would be applied on social media activists if they cross the red lines.

“A special panel has been set up to follow the content published in the audio and visual media,” he said.

According to Article 40 of the Press Law, a Saudi would face punishment if he commits any violations mentioned in Article 9.
The punishment has been explained in Article 38 of the law.

More than 40,000 political prisoners, mostly prisoners of conscience, are reportedly in jails across Saudi Arabia.

According to the activists, most of the detained political thinkers are being held by the government without trial or legitimate charges and have been arrested for merely looking suspicious.

In Saudi Arabia, protests and political gatherings of any kind are prohibited.