 Hamoud
Saleh Al-Amri, a Saudi blogger imprisoned in January for writing about his
decision to convert to Christianity, was released by Saudi authorities at the
end of March 2009 instead of being put death as an apostate as prescribed by
Sharia.
However, he has been banned from travelling outside Saudi Arabia or appearing in
the media.
According to Hamoud himself, who is back writing on his Christ for Saudi
blog, his release is due to pressure brought on Saudi authorities by the
Cairo-based Arab Network for Human Rights Information, one of several rights
groups that have campaigned for his release.
Following his arrest in January, the Saudi authorities blocked access to his
blog inside Saudi Arabia. Google then censored the blog with a bollox claim of
a technical violation of their terms of service, before restoring it on 5
February 2009 following public pressure.
The relative leniency of the Saudi police and regime in this case has surprised
some analysts, given Hamoud's explicit claim to have left Islam, which amounts
to apostasy punishable by death, and his outspoken criticism of the regime,
something which is not normally tolerated.
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