Fouad Ahmad Alfarhan is a popular Saudi Arabian

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

ger and political commentator noted for his advocacy of political reforms on his blog. Farhan is unusual among Saudi Arabian bloggers because he uses his real name rather than blogging under a pseudonym. Farhan had stopped blogging for a period after being told by government officials to "tone down" his commentary. He resumed posting in July 2007. On Tuesday, December 10, 2007 Farhan was arrested in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

. The arrest was reported by other Arab bloggers, and Saudi authorities confirmed he was being held for "

interrogation Interrogation (also called questioning) is interviewing as commonly employed by law enforcement officers, military personnel, intelligence agencies, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist organizations with the goal of eliciting useful informa ...

." No official charges were relayed. He was held in

solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...

without charges. He was released from prison on April 26, 2008. Reacting to his arrest, friends created the website Free Fouad calling for his release. Gamal Eid, the executive director of the

Arabic Network for Human Rights Information The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI; ) was a non-governmental organization devoted to promoting freedom of expression across the Middle East and North Africa. It was founded in the year 2004. Based in Cairo, Egypt, the organizati ...

, commented "When the Saudi authorities arrest a young man writing maturely and is against terrorism and calls for reformation, it is a serious indicator for how far are the fanatic and those opposing freedom of expression and reformation are taking over in Saudi Arabia." Prior to his arrest Farhan worked as a manager at Smart Info Co. in Jeddah. He is married and has two children, Raghad and Khetab. Fouad Al-Farhan is optimistic about the potential for blogging in Saudi Arabia, having said that "If we worked hard to spread blogging in Saudi Arabia, and convinced some influential people to adopt it, then we will gain the benefits of blogging in the same way Western societies did" he says, "we have to move on." Katagogi - Fouad Al Farhan
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References

1975 births Living people Ball State University alumni Saudi Arabian bloggers {{SaudiArabia-bio-stub

See also

References