Saudi Arabia Jails Islamist for 8 Years for Twitter Protest Call

"A Saudi court Sunday jailed an Islamist for eight years on charges of inciting protests, mocking the monarch and criticising the security services on Twitter, official news agency SPA reported. The defendant, who was not identified, had been convicted of inciting 'families of those arrested for security reasons to protest by publishing Tweets and videos on YouTube,' justice ministry spokesman Fahd al-Bakran was quoted by SPA as saying. Prosecutors also found the defendant guilty of 'mocking' King Abdullah, Saudi scholars and the judiciary, as well as criticising security services for arresting 'promoters of extremist ideology.' In addition to the jail sentence, the court banned the defendant from travelling for eight years and posting on social media."