“Judicial officials confirmed that those who were summoned are under processing for criminal indictment and will be subject to the legal procedures,” Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
Saudi Arabia has recently stepped up efforts to silence political dissent, using strict new cybercrime laws to sentence offenders to prison for online posts, which are considered insulting to rulers or threatening to public order.
Saudi Attorney General Sheikh Saud Bin Abdullah Al-Muajab confirmed that any publication, material, performance and action that possesses content harmful to society “regardless of its material, pretexts and means of publication will be charged by the prosecution according to the legal and regulatory requirements,” SPA reported.
This includes media publications, books, social media, lectures and speeches.
At the same time, the public prosecutor's office claims to respect “freedom of opinion,” according to SPA.
In July, a young Saudi woman was detained after a video featuring her wearing a miniskirt went viral on social media. She was eventually released without charge, although the video triggered heated debate among social media users.
Earlier in April, Saudi Arabia reportedly sentenced a young man to death for apostasy after he renounced Islam and expressed his views through social media posts.
