Born | 1989 (age 34–35)[2] |
---|---|
Nationality | Saudi Arabian |
Occupation(s) | Poet,[3] columnist[4][5] |
Notable credit | Al-Bilad Columnist (until Jan 2012)[5] |
Hamza Kashgari Mohamad Najeeb[1] (often Hamza Kashgari, Arabic: حمزة كاشغري; born 1989) is a Saudi poet[3] and a former columnist for the Saudi daily newspaper Al-Bilad.[4][5] In 2011, he was on a Mabahith watchlist of pro-democracy activists.[6][7]
Kashgari became the subject of a controversy after he was accused of insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad in three short messages published through the Twitter social networking service.[8][9] King Abdullah ordered that Kashgari be arrested "for crossing red lines and denigrating religious beliefs in God and His Prophet".[5] Kashgari left Saudi Arabia, trying to seek political asylum in New Zealand.[8] On February 12, 2012, he was extradited from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, back to Saudi Arabia and a Malaysian High Court injunction against his extradition was issued.[10] Whether Kashgari was deported before or after the issuing of the injunction is disputed between Malaysian authorities and Lawyers for Liberty (LFL).[1] Saudi authorities jailed him for nearly two years without trial for his Twitter messages.
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