Zuhair Kutbi, Freelance
Medium:Print, Television
Charge:Anti-State
Imprisoned:July 15, 2015

Saudi writer Zuhair Kutbi was arrested at his home in the city of Mecca on July 15, 2015, according to news reports. Mohamed Jameel, Kutbi's father, told CPJ that Kutbi was accused of inciting public opinion and offending symbols of the state, among other allegations.

According to the independent rights group European-Saudi Organization for Human Rights, Kutbi's trial on several charges, including verbally abusing public officials, calling for constitutional rule, and inciting public opinion, began on November 4, 2015 before the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh. The court was founded in 2008 to try terrorism cases but has since been used to prosecute journalists, human rights defenders, and dissidents.

On December 21, 2015, the court sentenced Kutbi to four years' imprisonment, a five-year travel ban, a 15-year ban on media activity, and a 100,000 riyal fine (approximately US$ 26,700), according to his son Jameel. The court suspended the latter two years of the prison sentence. Kutbi was also ordered to delete his Twitter account.

An appeals court confirmed the sentence on February 23, 2016, Kutbi's son posted on Twitter.

According to the independent rights group, the European-Saudi Organization for Human Rights, Kutbi suffers from several medical conditions including high blood pressure and diabetes, and is not receiving adequate health care. In July 2016, his son Jameel tweeted after a brief prison visit that Kutbi's health had deteriorated so much in prison that "he will not live to complete his sentence."

Kutbi wrote regularly for the news website Makkah Online as well as his personal website, and often criticized the government in Saudi Arabia. He has published several books on topics encompassing politics, geography, history, and social and philosophical issues.

On June 22, 2015 he appeared as a guest on a talk show called "Fi Al-Sameem" (In Depth), which airs on the privately owned channel Rotana Khaleejia during the month of Ramadan. On the show, Kutbi criticized the country's National Dialogue as a waste of time and money, and said his remarks had been edited out of the broadcast of the most recent meeting. Participants of the National Dialogue gather once a year to discuss issues including reform, extremism, and national unity. Kutbi also criticized the government for not upholding promises of reform, as well as Saudi intellectuals for not pushing for reform stringently enough.

On July 2, 2015, two weeks before Kutbi's arrest, the government suspended "Fi Al-Sameem" on accusations that another guest insulted the recently deceased King Abdullah during a June 30, 2015 broadcast, according to news reports. It did not broadcast any new episodes through the end of Ramadan in mid-July.

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