Saudi Arabia executes Turki al-Jasser after years of surveillance and prolonged detention over anonymous online posts

Read in Arabic / للقراءة بالعربية

Skyline International for Human Rights condemns in the strongest terms the execution of prominent Saudi journalist and social media dissident Turki bin Abdulaziz al-Jasser, whose death sentence was carried out on 14 June 2025. This act represents a grave violation of Saudi Arabia’s obligations under international human rights law and a chilling escalation in its ongoing campaign to silence peaceful dissent.

According to reports, al-Jasser was arrested in March 2018 after Saudi authorities raided his home in Riyadh and confiscated his electronic devices. Saudi officials allege he operated the anonymous Twitter (now X) account “Kashkol,” which published content critical of the Saudi royal family and exposed allegations of corruption, human rights abuses, and systemic oppression.

The account covered sensitive topics including the Arab Spring, women’s rights, and government malpractice. His arrest came amid broader accusations that Saudi authorities have engaged in surveillance and espionage targeting social media activists and journalists, including the late Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

While detained, al-Jasser was reportedly subjected to enforced disappearance, denied access to lawyers and family, and allegedly suffered physical and psychological abuse. He spent seven years detained on charges widely criticized as baseless—terrorism and “high treason”—and faced a secret trial lacking due process. His execution violates several core protections under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)—to which Saudi Arabia is a state party—including the rights to life (Article 6), fair trial (Article 14), freedom of expression (Article 19), and privacy (Article 17). The death penalty should never be applied for peaceful expression—a principle reiterated by UN human rights experts.

Reports from multiple media investigations reveal that al-Jasser’s identification and arrest were facilitated by breaches of digital privacy linked to Twitter’s Middle East office in Dubai, which disclosed sensitive user data—including IP addresses, contact details, and location data—to Saudi intelligence. In addition, in August 2022, two former Twitter employees—Ali Alzabarah and Ahmad Abouammo—were convicted in the United States for allegedly spying for Saudi Arabia and leaking private information from over 6,000 users, including dissidents. These events reveal an ongoing pattern of state surveillance and repression through digital platforms.

We stress the urgent responsibility of social media companies—including X—to safeguard user privacy, especially in repressive environments. When digital platforms mishandle or compromise sensitive user data, the consequences can be deadly. Despite public commitments to free expression, social media companies have repeatedly failed to implement sufficient protections for anonymous users at risk, particularly those facing retaliation from authoritarian governments. The case of Turki al-Jasser illustrates the devastating human cost of such negligence.

While the company issued a statement thanking the U.S. Department of Justice for its support in prosecuting former employees who leaked user data to Saudi officials, this response does not absolve the platform of its responsibility to ensure robust safeguards that prevent such breaches from occurring in the first place—especially when lives are at stake.

In light of these grave violations, SIHR urgently calls on all relevant actors to take immediate and concrete action, including:

1. The authorities in Saudi Arabia to:
   • Uphold obligations under international human rights law by ceasing the use of the death penalty for online speech-related offenses.
   • Release all individuals imprisoned solely for peacefully expressing their views, in line with protections guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
    
2. The United Nations Human Rights Council to:
   • Demand a full, independent investigation into the detention and execution of Turki al-Jasser, including transparency around the secret trial and the role of digital surveillance in his identification and prosecution.
   • Ensure accountability for both state and private actors—including technology platforms—whose unlawful surveillance and data breaches  facilitated the violations that led to his execution.
    
3. Social media platforms, especially X (formerly Twitter), to:
   • Conduct an independent audit of past data-sharing practices, particularly in relation to Saudi users, and strengthen safeguards to prevent future misuse or unauthorized access.
   • Implement robust protections for anonymous and at-risk users, especially in repressive environments, where exposure can lead to arbitrary detention, torture, or even death.