Saudi Arabian film producer faces 13 years in prison

Saudi Arabian television producer Abdulaziz Almuzaini says he has been sentenced by an anti-terrorism court to a Prison sentence and a travel ban He is no longer allowed to leave Saudi Arabia, Almuzaini explains, sitting in a car, in a video published this week on the online service X.

In a video published last week and since deleted, the Producer of the series “Masameer County” stated that the Kingdom’s Special Criminal Court, established in 2008 to combat terrorism, had imposed on him “a sentence of 13 years, followed by a 13-year travel ban”.

According to Almuzaini The court accuses him of promoting homosexuality,As a result of the pressure, he had already had to close his company, Myrkott Animation Studio, and lay off the staff.

Almuzaini also directed a direct appeal to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in which he expressed confidence that he would “correct some of what happened to me”.

Netflix producer allegedly “mockered Arab regimes”

The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that the court documents refer to online posts by Almuzaini in which he “Arab regimes mocked” or speaks out for women’s rights. The authorities did not respond to a request from the AFP news agency on Thursday and Almuzaini himself was not available for comment.

His Netflix series “Masameer County”, which launched in 2021, shows a humorous look at a Saudi Arabia changing and breaking social taboos. Even topics such as homosexuality, which is considered a serious crime in Saudi Arabia, are not left out. The series is sometimes described as the Saudi Arabian counterpart to the US series “South Park” designated.

Activists criticize Saudi Arabia for its tough crackdown on sometimes very vague critical statements on the Internet. In 2022, two women were sentenced to decades in prison for critical online posts.