Saudi Netflix producer 13 years in prison for standing up for women and gays
Saudi Arabian producer Abdulaziz Almuzaini has been jailed for 13 years for making critical comments about the Saudi Arabian regime. A court convicts him of "promoting women's and gay rights".
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- Saudi Arabian producer Abdulaziz Almuzaini has been sentenced to 13 years in prison and banned from traveling for promoting homosexuality and women's rights.
- Almuzaini had to close his studio "Myrkott Animation" and dismiss his staff.
- According to the Wall Street Journal, the accusations are based on online posts in which Almuzaini mocks the regime and defends women's rights.
In his animated series "Masameer County", Saudi Arabian producer Abdulaziz Almuzaini defends women's rights and homosexuality - he even promotes them through his characters, a Saudi court has ruled.
He has now been sentenced to prison and banned from traveling by an anti-terror court. As "Bild " reports, the court accuses him of exactly this, namely promoting homosexuality. Almuzaini must therefore close his studio "Myrkott Animation" and dismiss his staff.
In a video on X, which has since been deleted, Almuzaini himself spoke about the verdict. The kingdom's special criminal court had sentenced him to 13 years in prison, followed by a 13-year travel ban. He even wanted to enlist the help of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. He said he could "correct some of the things that have happened to me".
Not the first sentence with decades of imprisonment
The Wall Street Journal, on the other hand, reports that the court documents do not refer to the animated series, but to online posts that the producer is said to have written. In them, he "mocks the Arab regime" and campaigns for women's rights.
Almuzaini also intended to "destabilize society and send content that could disrupt public order".
The accused had advocated extremist ideas and destabilized the social fabric and national security. He was found guilty for this. This was the outcome of the sentence handed down against the Netflix producer in 2023.
The series "Masameer County" seems to shed a humorous light on Saudi Arabia in transition - and deliberately breaks social taboos. For example, homosexuality, which is punishable by law in this state. It is also not the first time that someone has been convicted for posts on the internet: in 2022, two women were sent to prison for decades for critical online blogs.