3 years, 450 lashes for Saudi man seeking men on Twitter
“A man has been sentenced to three years in prison and 450 lashes by a court in Saudi Arabia for using his Twitter account to meet with gay men.
“The 24-year-old unnamed was arrested after he posted several tweets calling for same-sex relations and expressing his readiness to meet gay men, according to a Gulf News report that cited local daily Al Watan.”
In its account of the same incident, IB Times states:
“Saudi Arabia’s religious police — the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice — used an undercover agent to apprehend the man. His 450 lashes will be administered in 15 sessions. …
“Saudi Arabia is governed under a strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam and homosexuality is illegal in the country, as it is in the neighbouring Gulf Cooperation Council states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates and Qatar — due to host the 2022 World Cup Finals. Any man convicted of same-sex intercourse can also face life imprisonment or death by beheading and crucifixion under strict Sharia law. …
“Ironically, the country’s laws forbidding the sexes to mingle in public is believed to encourage Luwat (homosexual intercourse) because it is far easier to meet people of the same sex. Some areas of cities like Jeddah and Riyadh are said to have a number of ‘cruising areas’ and gay-friendly discos and coffee bars. However in 2002 three men were said to have been beheaded in the country for homosexuality.”
Related articles
- LGBTQ Communities in the Arab World Face Unique Digital Threats (eff.org)
- Jail, 450 lashes for Saudi man who used Twitter to befriend gay men | GayAsiaNews (Gay Asia News)
- Saudi Man Gets 450 Lashes and 3 Years Jail after Posting ‘Gay Tweets’ (IB Times)
- Saudi police arrest 35 at alleged ‘gay party’ (76crimes.com)
- No school for gays, tomboys in Saudi Arabia (76crimes.com)
- Saudi Arabia: 260 arrests for homosexuality in 1 year (76crimes.com)
- Jeddah Prison, Cell 18: Entrapped in Saudi Arabia (paper-bird.net)
It is reprehensible that we condemn Uganda, Nigeria and other countries but ignore even worse laws and penalties in the Middle Eastern countries you have names. I guess if you’ve got oil you can, literally, get away with murder.
My heart breaks for the children in Iraq; they are beheaded beyond belief.