Saudi seeks death penalty for preacher Al Ouda: Activists, family

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor is seeking the death penalty against prominent preacher Salman Al Ouda on terrorism-related charges, activists and his family said on Tuesday.

The 37 charges against the 61-year-old cleric in the Specialized Criminal Court include spreading discord and incitement against the ruler, according to London-based Saudi rights group ALQST and other activists.

Ouda's son, Abdullah, confirmed the court proceedings and said the accusations against his father included critical tweets and establishing an organisation in Kuwait for defending the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

Amnesty International's Saudi Arabia campaigner Dana Ahmed called the reports "a disturbing trend in the Kingdom (that) sends a horrifying message that peaceful dissent and expression may be met with the death penalty."

A government communications office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Saudi Arabia, where public protests and political parties are banned, has witnessed a crackdown on dissent, with dozens of clerics, intellectuals and activists arrested in the past year, even as the authorities enacted some high-profile social and economic reforms.

A roundup of senior royals, ministers and businessmen last November on charges of corruption sent shockwaves through the kingdom, stunning allies and foreign investors. Most of those detainees were released after reaching undisclosed financial settlements with the government.

Ouda, whom UN experts have described as a "reformist" and an influential religious figure who has urged greater respect for human rights within Sharia, was arrested in September 2017.

He had previously criticised the government but more recently kept silent or failed to publicly back Saudi policies, including a the blockade of Qatar.

Ouda was imprisoned from 1994-99 for agitating for political change. Ouda has 14 million Twitter followers.

In 2011, he called for elections and separation of powers. He has since been largely quiet on issues of domestic reform.

The authorities recommended the death penalty last month for five human rights activists from the kingdom's Eastern Province, including Israa al-Ghomgham, the first woman to possibly face that punishment for rights-related work.