Saudi court sentences Walid Fatihi to 6 years in prison

SANAA, Dec. 9 (YPA) – A Saudi court on Tuesday sentenced prominent U.S.-Saudi physician Walid al-Fitaihi to six years in prison and an additional six-year travel ban despite US pressure to release him, his family and two sources familiar with the case said.

Fitaihi was convicted on charges that include obtaining U.S. citizenship without permission and criticizing other Arab nations on Twitter in violation of the cyber crime law, Reuters reported , citing a source familiar with the issue.

He was also convicted for supporting and sympathising with a terrorist organization, understood to be a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood, an influential Islamist group that Saudi Arabia considers to be a terrorist organization but that the United States does not. One charge related to terror financing was dropped by the court.

Rights groups have described the case as politically motivated.

Al-Fitaihi was detained in 2017 under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s anti-corruption campaign, which netted hundreds of royals, ministers and businessmen and held them in Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton hotel.

A US State Department spokesperson said: “We are disappointed to hear of the sentencing of Dr. Walid al-Fitaihi and are seeking a full understanding of the ruling against him.”

E.M