DUBAI: Saudi Arabian journalist Hamza Kashgari is to face an apostasy trial for comments he made on his personal Twitter account, which Saudi officials say are insulting to the Prophet Mohamed. On Monday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) called for Kashgari's immediate release and for Riyadh to drop any charges against him based on what he had written on Twitter concerning his personal religious views. The case against Kashgari is based on now deleted tweets he made. The country's top religious leaders have already declared the journalist guilty and have called for him to be put to death. He had fled to Malaysia, but was sent back to Saudi Arabia, despite worries he could face execution and a court order suspending the deportation. “Malaysia had no business deporting Kashgari, and Saudi has no business prosecuting him for his tweets expressing his religious opinion, which it is his right to do freely,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “It is near certain he will not get a fair trial in Saudi Arabia, where religious scholars have concluded that he is guilty of apostasy and should be put to death.” Kashgari, a columnist from Jeddah, was arrested Wednesday after arriving at Kuala Lumpur International Airport based on a request made by the Saudi authorities via Interpol, a source told German press agency dpa at police headquarters said on condition of anonymity. The suspect allegedly posted his controversial comments to mark Prophet Mohammed's birthday last week, outraging thousands of people who called for his execution under Saudi law. In Dubai, Saudi blogger and social media activists Abdallah told Bikyamasr.com that this is “part of the continued attacks against individuals who speak up publicly about issues.” He argued that if the Islamic world is to find freedom and justice, “we must be open to ideas we don't necessarily agree with. We are still a long way off from that.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/biuLr Tags: Apostasy, Execution, featured, Hamza Kashgari, Islam Section: Human Rights, Latest News, Media, Saudi Arabia
