Expats wary after Twitter ruling

January 2, 2014

Riyadh, Dec 2: Expatriates here said they would be more cautious when using social networking sites after learning that a Riyadh court convicted a Saudi for falsely accusing a Kuwaiti singer of immoral behavior on his Twitter and Facebook pages.

Many have welcomed the ruling, saying it protects Internet users from online predators.

The Riyadh Criminal Court sentenced the man to three months in jail, 80 lashes and a fine of SR10,000 for posting insulting accusations against the singer Shams with photos on his pages.

The accused was out on bail since August. He was identified as Naif Abdullah and used the Twitter handle @alyousef1989. He used the ID “Ahlam’s Attorney” claiming that he had represented the singer Ahlam on many occasions. The Arab singer Ahlam is from the UAE.

Expatriates in the Kingdom have warned their fellow nationals to be cautious about what they post on their social networking accounts. Many expatriates post personal information, share photographs and even attack each other openly online, which raises concerns about privacy issues.

“It is advisable for us not to post any negative comments on issues that are not clear to us. Let us establish the authenticity of the information that has reached us before sharing it,” cautioned Rasol Abbas, a community leader from the Philippines.

Saleh Bucay, an IT expert, told Arab News that social networking habits might be affecting our brains in ways that we don’t fully comprehend yet. The expert cited new research that reveals how social media sites negatively affect our sense of connection, decrease productivity, breach our privacy and lead to cyber-bullying in some instances.

The expert explained that some major Internet companies such as Google and MSN have been tracking people’s online activities using new almost undetectable methods beyond the traditional “cookie” — a small file that websites routinely install on users’ computers to help track their activities.

Bucay noted that advertisers, who took advantage of these techniques, faced strong criticism for collecting and selling personal data about computer users without their consent and knowledge.

Meanwhile, Twitter account holders have welcomed the ruling against the Saudi user, saying it protected people from online predators.

“I hope this will put an end to irresponsible tweets and posts accusing women of adultery over differences of opinions,” said Judicious Arab.

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UN condemns Israeli regime’s ‘organized torture’ against Palestinians

News Network

November 30,2025

The United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) has condemned the Israeli regime for enforcing a policy of “organized torture” against Palestinians.

In a report published on Friday, CAT stated that the occupying regime enforces a deliberate policy of “organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment” against Palestinian abductees, particularly since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza.

The committee expressed “deep concern over repeated severe beatings, dog attacks, electrocution, water-boarding, use of prolonged stress positions [and] sexual violence” inflicted on Palestinians.

Palestinian prisoners were degraded by “being made to act like animals or being urinated on,” systematically denied medical care, and subjected to excessive restraints, “in some cases resulting in amputation,” the report added.

CAT also condemned the routine application of “unlawful combatants law” to justify the prolonged detention without trial of thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children.

More than 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, are currently held in Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian and international human rights groups, with 3,474 Palestinians in “administrative detention,” meaning they are imprisoned without trial for indefinite periods.

The report highlighted the “high proportion of children who are currently detained without charge or on remand,” noting that while Israel sets the age of criminal responsibility at 12, even younger children have been abducted.

Children designated as security prisoners face severe restrictions on family contact, may be subjected to solitary confinement, and are denied access to education, in clear violation of international law.

The committee further suggested that Israel’s policies across the Occupied Territories constitute collective torture against the Palestinian population.

“A range of policies adopted by Israel in the course of its continued unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading living conditions for the Palestinian population,” the report said.

On Thursday, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned the systematic killing and torture of Palestinian abductees in Israeli prisons, urging international action to halt these abuses.

Citing human rights data, Hamas stated that 94 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli prisons since the start of Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on Gaza.

“This reflects an organized criminal approach that has turned these prisons into direct killing grounds to eliminate our people,” the resistance movement said.

Hamas called on the international community, the UN, and human rights organizations to immediately pressure Israel to end crimes against prisoners and uphold their rights as guaranteed by all international conventions and norms.

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