Osama Khalid

Osama Khalid
Khalid in March 2016
Born (1994-01-19) 19 January 1994
Occupations
Criminal chargesSwaying public opinion
Criminal penalty32 years
Criminal statusIncarcerated

Osama Khalid (Arabic: أسامة خالد, romanized: ʾUsāma Khālid, pronounced [ʔuˈsaːma ˈxaːlid]; born 19 January 1994[1]) is a Saudi Arabian medical doctor and Wikipedia administrator who was sentenced to 32 years in prison in 2020.[2]

According to human rights activists, his arrest and prison sentence was because he contributed information to Wikipedia about the persecution of political activists in Saudi Arabia.[3]

According to the joint statement by Washington-based whistleblower organization DAWN and Beirut based digital rights group SMEX, the arrest of Khalid is speculated to be part of a crackdown on Wikipedia administrators.[4] However, the charges pressed on him by the Saudi government are "swaying public opinion" and "violating public morals" by posting content "deemed to be critical about the persecution of political activists in the country".[5]

A joint statement signed by 33 organizations, including Freedom House and Amnesty International called on the Saudi authorities to release Khalid and all others unjustly imprisoned for their online expression.[6]

Arrest

According to the sources from the Democracy for the Arab World Now and Social Media Exchange, Osama Khalid and fellow Arabic Wikipedia administrator Ziyad al-Sofiani were arrested on the same day in July of 2020.[7] The Specialized Criminal Court of Saudi Arabia, the counter-terrorism court of the country, initially sentenced him to five years in al-Ha'ir prison in Riyadh. In September 2022, the court increased his sentence to 32 years for the same charges.[8] However, on appeal his sentence was reduced to 25 years in 2023, and then to 14 years in 2025.[7]

Excessive prison sentences have been described as a tool of repression of the Saudi government by ALQST, citing both Khalid's sentence, and those of Salma al-Shehab, Nourah al-Qahtani and Sukaynah al-Aithan, amongst others.[9][10]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Saudi Arabia: Birthday in jail: Saudi Wikipedian Osama Khalid Remains Unjustly Imprisoned on his 30th Birthday". Access Now. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Saudi Arabia jails two Wikipedia staff in 'bid to control content'". The Guardian. 5 January 2023. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Saudi Arabia 'infiltrated' Wikipedia to control content, activists say". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Activists say Saudi government 'infiltrated' Wikipedia, jailed two admins". Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  5. ^ Belanger, Ashley (6 January 2023). "Wikipedia admin jailed for 32 years after alleged Saudi spy infiltration". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Joint Statement: Saudi Arabia must free detainees jailed for their online expression ahead of Internet Governance Forum". Freedom House. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Osama Khalid". alqst.org. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  8. ^ "Saudi Arabia: Government Agents Infiltrate Wikipedia, Sentence Independent Wikipedia Administrators to Prison". DAWN. 16 January 2023. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  9. ^ "Nourah al-Qahtani: Yet another lengthy jail sentence, for tweeting". alqst.org. 16 September 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  10. ^ "Eight Saudi women launch hunger strike against detention". alqst.org. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
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