Photo Credit: AP/Hassan Ammar
The Associated Press’s Aya Batrawy reports that Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet approved a new anti-terrorism law criminalizing acts that “disturb public order, defame the reputation of the state or threaten the kingdom’s unity.” Al-Riyadh Net reports that the law was introduced by the Interior Ministr, reviewed by the advisory Shura Council and is awaiting King Abdullah’s approval putting the law into effect. Batrawy suggests that Saudi women who drove were accused of “disturbing public order” for violating the driving ban for females, which leaves the possibility that in the future these women could be charged under the new anti-terror law.
Heather Saul, of The Independent, references Al-Hayat who claims the head of the Commission for Audiovisual Media, Dr. Riadh Najem, plans to create a new agency to monitor content on YouTube and other video sharing sites. Saul claims that according to the report, Saudis would have to obtain a permit from the commission in order to post a video that is compatible with Saudi “culture, values and tradition.” Saul notes that the report comes following an announcement that the Saudis use YouTube more per-capita than any other country in the world. Reporters Without Borders suggests the internet, “has been one of the few spaces where Saudis could express views and share content,” but this announcement “would yet again show that the Saudi authorities are bent on eliminating all space for freedom and gagging civil society.”
Meanwhile, the Saudi Ambassador to Britain Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz al-Saud criticized the West for its inaction in Syria and nuclear agreement with Iran, suggesting it risks regional stability. Al-Saud argues, “for all their talk of ‘red lines,’ when it counted, our partners have seemed all too ready to concede our safety and risk our region’s stability.” He suggests that in order to maintain stability, Saudi Arabia ”has no choice but to become more assertive in international affairs,” and “more determined than ever to stand up for the genuine stability our region so desperately needs.”