A Turkish barber accused of swearing at God is sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia.

Sabri Bogday from the southern Hatay province went to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia 11 years ago and opened a barbershop.

According to reports, Bogday argued with his neighbor, an Egyptian tailor, and was arrested after the tailor told the police that he had sworn at God.

While Bogday has been in prison for the past 13 months, the Egyptian who made the allegation has disappeared.

When he was sentenced to death in the last court session and prison authorities came to his cell and told him to call his family for the last time, the family panicked and is now calling for Turkish authorities to intervene. The family also fears Bogday might be executed before the appeals court deals with the matter.

His mother Atra Bogday said her son is a very polite and God-fearing individual, dismissing the claims that he had sworn at God: His Egyptian neighbor lied.

His wife Muazzez said: I confronted the tailor when my husband's friends told me what happened. He said it's none of his business. We later learnt that he closed down his shop and fled. He didn't attend a single court session.

Both Turkey's President Abdullah Gl and Foreign Ministry officials are said to be closely monitoring the case. Bogday's appeal is expected to be heard within 15 days.

The case of a Turkish barber who was sentenced to death at the Jeddah General Court on March 31 on charges of blasphemy will be sent to the Appeals Court in Makkah next week.

Sabri Bogday was sentenced to death after two men, one Saudi and the other Egyptian, reported to the authorities that he had sworn at God and Muhammad at his barbershop in Jeddah early last year.

A source told Arab News that Bogday admitted in court to swearing and did not challenge the witnesses' testimonies. He also said that he was in no conflict with the two witnesses — an important point, since, according to Saudi law, the testimony of an accuser is not accepted if it can be shown that he or she has some ulterior motive.

The source added that the judges did not give Bogday the chance to repent.

Arab News also learned that the death sentence was based on a “hadd” ruling (a clear verdict based on laws from the Qur'an and Sunnah) and not a “ta'azir” ruling (a judicial interpretation of the Shariah law). In both cases the death sentence can be appealed. However, since the verdict in this case is based on a “hadd” ruling, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah would not be able to pardon the victim.

At the final court hearing three weeks ago, a death sentence was announced in spite of Bogday denying that he swore at God and the Prophet. The ruling was issued based on the witnesses' testimonies and Bogday's previous admission in court.

Sources said officials from the Turkish Consulate did visit the Jeddah General Court at the beginning of the trial, but did not assign Bogday a lawyer. Hussein Al-Sharif, head of the National Human Rights Society (NSHR) for the Makkah Province and a professor of law at King Abdulaziz University, said that he hopes the Turkish Consulate will intervene and assign a lawyer for the Appeals Court.

Human Rights Watch has called on Saudi Arabia to dismiss a death sentence against a Turkish barber convicted of cursing the name of God.

The group said in a statement that an appeals court had upheld a death sentence against Sabri Bogday, a Turkish national who had worked in Jeddah for 11 years as a barber, who was convicted of insulting God during an argument with a Saudi client and an Egyptian neighbour.

The sentence can be still reversed by a higher legal body.

The charges, conviction, and sentence against Bogday show the dangers of criminalising speech on the grounds that it's offensive, said Sarah Leah Whitson, the group's Middle East director, in the statement.

A Turkish barber arrested in Saudi Arabia for insulting the Prophet Mohammed has been released.

Ersin Taze was released Monday afternoon after being arrested by Saudi authorities about a month ago for insulting the Prophet Mohammed. Originally from Turkey’s southern Hatay province, Taze had been working as a barber in Riyadh for 11 years.

The Turkish Embassy in Riyadh put forth great effort to secure Taze’s release, with Turkish Ambassador Naci Koru sending a letter to Saudi officials, including Riyadh’s emir, asking them to resolve the matter. A statement from the Saudi Arabia Embassy in Turkey said Koru’s letter played a significant role in the Turkish man’s release.

A Turkish barber, who was condemned to capital punishment in Saudi Arabia on charges of blasphemy, is likely to be released, Turkey's ambassador to Riyadh said over the weekend.

Turkish barber to be released I believe our citizen will be released and sent to Turkey. We were objecting to the process followed at the tribunal, and I think it gave positive results for him, Ambassador Naci Koru said. Koru called Sabri Bogday's family in Hatay to inform them he would be released.

The barber was sentenced to beheading for swearing during an argument with his neighbor, a tailor.

President Abdullah Gl previously telephoned and sent a letter to the Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz to demand Bogday's pardon.

Update: Two Turkish Barbers

19th January 2009

A Turkish barber who was sentenced to death by a Jeddah court on blasphemy charges will soon be released following a royal clemency.

The Ministry of Interior has informed us about the release of Sabri Bogday, who has been languishing in a Saudi prison for the last three years, Turkish Ambassador to the Kingdom Naci Koru said.

Thanking the Saudi government on behalf of the Turkish government and people, Koru said the Kingdom has rescinded the death penalty and that the authorities are processing papers to release Bogday.

Bogday, a hairdresser in Jeddah, was sentenced to death for swearing at God during an argument with his neighbor, an Egyptian tailor. Police arrested Bogday after the tailor lodged a complaint. The case received much publicity in the Turkish and Western media.

Ersin Taze, another Turkish barber who was facing the death penalty for allegedly slandering the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), was released and then repatriated to Ankara six months ago.

Update: Close Shave

27th January 2009

A Turkish barber, sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia but later pardoned, has been released and is returning to Turkey, the Turkish Embassy in Riyadh reported yesterday.

Sabri Bogday will return to Turkey on the first plane from Jeddah to Istanbul, officials said. The barber called his family yesterday after being released and said he would be in Turkey on Tuesday.

The Summary Court in Jeddah is expected to look into complaints raised by a number of people against a Saudi writer for allegedly insulting Muhammad.

The Saudi writer had allegedly described a Hadith of the Prophet as barbaric, during a program on Al-Hurra Channel.

Sources told Arab News that the court had sent a copy of the lawsuit filed against the man to Justice Minister Muhammad Al-Eissa in order to seek his opinion on the issue.

The plaintiffs have presented audio and visual evidence to prove their argument. They want the court to give the writer a strong punishment in accordance with the Shariah law. The Saudi plaintiffs said the writer's action would not be accepted by any Muslim who is proud of his religion.  The plaintiffs have presented a copy of the writer's interview with the television channel to the court along with their complaint in which they accused the writer of attacking the Muhammad's personality.

An Australian man has been sentenced to 500 lashes and a year in a Saudi Arabian jail after being convicted of blasphemy, according to officials.

Mansor Almaribe of southern Victoria state, was detained in the holy city of Medina last month while making the Muslim pilgrimage of Hajj. Family members told Australian media that Saudi officials accused him of insulting the companions of the prophet Muhammad, a violation of Saudi Arabia's blasphemy laws.

Australia's ambassador in Saudi Arabia has contacted Saudi authorities to appeal for leniency.

The world stabbed in the back?

Saudi Arabia has used Interpol's system to get a journalist arrested in Malaysia for supposedly insulting Muhammad on Twitter

Police in Kuala Lumpur said Hamza Kashgari was detained at the airport following a request by Interpol on behalf of the Saudi authorities.

Kashgari, a newspaper columnist, fled Saudi Arabia after posting a tweet on Mohammed's birthday that sparked more than 30,000 responses and several death threats. The posting, which was later deleted, read:

I have loved things about you and I have hated things about you and there is a lot I don't understand about you ... I will not pray for you.

More than 13,000 people joined a Facebook page titled The Saudi People Demand the Execution of Hamza Kashgari. Clerics joined in the call for blood with the demand that he be charged with apostasy, a religious offence punishable by death.

Jago Russell, the chief executive of the British charity Fair Trials International, which has campaigned against the blanket enforcement of Interpol red notices, said:

Interpol should be playing no part in Saudi Arabia's pursuit of Hamza Kashgari, however unwise his comments on Twitter.

If an Interpol red notice is the reason for his arrest and detention it would be a serious abuse of this powerful international body that is supposed to respect basic human rights (including to peaceful free speech) and to be barred from any involvement in religious or political cases.

Reports suggest that the Malaysian authorities intend to return him to his native country.

Update: Deportation shames Malaysia

13th February 2012. See article from bbc.co.uk
See also Saudi king arrests writer who abused the Prophet from emirates247.com

Malaysian authorities have deported a Saudi journalist accused of supposedly insulting Muhammad via a tweet saying:

I have loved things about you and I have hated things about you and there is a lot I don't understand about you ... I will not pray for you.

Police confirmed to the BBC that Hamza Kashgari was sent back to Saudi Arabia on Sunday despite protests from human rights groups.

The nature of the charges against the individual in this case are a matter for the Saudi Arabian authorities, Malaysia's home ministry said in a statement.

Amnesty International has warned that Kashgari could be executed in Saudi Arabia if he is found guilty of apostasy.

If the Malaysian authorities hand over Hamza Kashgari to Saudi Arabia, they could end up complicit in any violations he suffers, said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui of Amnesty's Middle East division.

Kashgari is in big trouble as it was the the Saudi king, Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, who ordered his arrest

Update: Trial by Religion

20th February 2012. See article from timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Saudi Arabia's mufti, the country's highest religious figure, has rejected calls to shift the trial of a Twitter user, who was accused of blasphemy, from religious courts to the information ministry.

Shaikh Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah Al Shaikh said that Hamza Kashgari, charged of disrespecting God and insulting Mohammad in his Twitter account, will face trial in the country's religious-court only. The mufti claimed:

We are in a Muslim country and we have a fair justice system.

All matters related to justice should be reviewed by Shariah courts as God the Almighty said in the Holy Quran. The justice system in Saudi Arabia is fair.

Update: Reprehensible Malaysia

22nd February 2012. See article from indexoncensorship.org

It seems that the Malaysian authorities would have rather kept the arrest and deportation off the radar. However, the news began to spread. The authorities began trying to justify themselves and their intended actions.

It was suggested that the arrest was part of an Interpol initiative, though Interpol denied any knowledge of the matter.

Attempts were then made to characterise the affair as being part of an extradition exercise but Malaysia does not have an extradition treaty with Saudi Arabia.

Lawyers were appointed and began efforts to meet their client and to secure his release. They appear to have been given the run-around or kept in the dark about the fact that the authorities had already unilaterally decided to return Kashgari to Saudi Arabia. The procuring of an injunction from a High Court judge on Sunday to temporarily restrain the deportation came to nought; Kashgari had been deported earlier that morning despite awareness of the intended legal challenge.

One cannot help but question the manner in which the Malaysian authorities conducted themselves. Malaysia was under no legal obligation to return the journalist to Saudi Arabia and the two countries are not bound by an extradition treaty, meaning what Kashgari has done in Saudi Arabia is not of relevance in Malaysia. Kashgari had not committed any offence in Malaysia and had entered the country on a valid travel document. He was not intending to stay in Malaysia; his final port of call was New Zealand.

...Read the full article

A Saudi journalist facing the death penalty for a tweet deemed to be blasphemous is reportedly to be released.

Hamza Kashgari had offended the easily offended with the tweet:

I have loved things about you and I have hated things about you and there is a lot I don't understand about you ... I will not pray for you.

Kashgari is reported to have repented at a court hearing and is now expected to be released in the coming weeks after a light sentence.

A man in Saudi Arabia is accused of offending Islam and Mohammed in remarks on Twitter.

Hundreds of Twitter users were 'outraged' and demanded the arrest of Mohammed Salama on apostasy charges as was the case of Hamza Kashgari who is already in jail for supposedly offensive tweets.

The Saudi Arabic language daily Sabq, which carried part of Salama's remarks, said he claimed Mohammed had once tried to commit a suicide because he doubted the Koran. It also quoted Salama as saying on Twitter : If God gives chances but does not forget, then why He forgot Israel and did not give chances to Gaddafi. The paper also said Salama believed that God will let us enjoy liquor, usury and sorcery in Paradise after we were deprived of them in life.

The paper reported that Hundreds of Twitter users are demanding the arrest and trial of Salama for insulting Islam, the Prophet  and God as was the case with Kashgari.