Media stands trial in Saudi witch hunt

Riyadh by night.

The case of a Lebanese television identity sentenced to death for witchcraft in Saudi Arabia has cast the spotlight not only on the draconian restrictions placed on Saudi society but also the challenges facing those working to develop a viable and self-sustaining domestic media industry.  

Ali Sibat was condemned to death by the lower court in Medina for practicing witchcraft on November 9. Sibat had been held in custody after being arrested by the Saudi religious police in May, 2008.

Sibat’s purported crime was to provide "predictions of the future" and “general advice” to viewers of his television programme, which aired on Lebanese satellite TV channel, Sheherazade.

While the Pythonesque nature of Sibat’s conviction belies the tragic consequences of this particular case, it also highlights the growing concern among moderate Saudis about the unyielding grip of the country’s religious police.

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According to a recent report published by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in relation to the Sibat case, HRW representatives had previously asked a “high-ranking official” in the Ministry of Justice to “clarify the definition of the crime of witchcraft in Saudi Arabia and the evidence necessary for a court to prove such a crime.

“The official confirmed that no legal definition exists and could not clarify what evidence has probative value in witchcraft trials. Saudi Arabia has no penal code and in almost all cases gives judges the discretion to define acts they deem criminal and to set attendant punishments,” the report noted.

"Saudi courts are sanctioning a literal witch hunt by the religious police," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at HRW. "The crime of ‘witchcraft' is being used against all sorts of behaviour, with the cruel threat of state-sanctioned executions."

Sibat’s case follows hot on the heels of the incarceration of the ‘Saudi Sex Braggart’ and airline sales clerk Mazen Abdul Jawad, who was sentenced to five years in jail for discussing his sex life on Lebanese television channel LBC.

LBC’s Saudi operating license was subsequently revoked by government officials, forcing the closure of the broadcaster’s offices in the country and creating further tension between the station’s owner Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and authorities, who have previously voiced concern about the ‘immoral aspects’ of content aired on the billionaire’s Rotana music channels.

Both cases serve to highlight the serious challenges facing Saudi media while causing significant harm to the credibility of those who argue the country is ideally placed to serve as a base for international media organisations operating in the Middle East.

In a recent interview with Digital Broadcast, Matthieu De Clercq, the project manager for A.T. Kearney, which is working with the Saudi government to develop the country’s first media city, argued that Saudi laws pertaining to freedom of speech were comparable to China and Singapore; the difference being the latter two had clearly defined regulation defining what was – and wasn’t – acceptable content for media distribution.

“People tend to focus on the 10 percent of the media that is controversial in [Saudi Arabia]. Yes, there are certain things that you will never be able to do in KSA, but many of these are already catered for in Dubai or Jordan or other locations,” he said.

De Clerq also argues that “the key for KSA is not to try and become another Dubai or replicate [media] standards seen in Europe or the US”.

While regulatory restrictions placed on media organisations operating in most Middle East countries are undoubtedly less relaxed than in the West, Saudi Arabia’s state controlled operators remain a mouthpiece of government policy, meaning freedom of speech, and an independent, commercial media industry, remain entirely alien concepts. 

Ultimately, it is this fundamental issue that will ensure the comparative success of existing or planned media cities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Cairo and perhaps even Erbil (Iraq), and likely condemn those in KSA to failure.