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Under the kingdom’s strict cyber laws, being openly gay or defying gender roles online can have serious consequences. This is the case of three influential people from the LGBTIQ+ community who have been arrested in Saudi Arabia. Our Observer had to flee the country after coming out of the closet and from abroad fights to free his LGBTIQ+ compatriots from prison.
Tala Safwan is now in prison, Suhail al-Jameel was released in October 2022, and Mohamad al-Bokari was deported to his home country of Yemen. These three LGBTIQ+ influencers and online personalities were targeted by strict anti-cybercrime laws that aim to uphold “public morality.”
Today, Al-Bokari has been granted political asylum in a European country, but this is not the case for thousands of Saudis from the LGBTIQ+ community, or even their allies, whose fate remains unknown.
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