"Alkhair says it became much more difficult to gather as a group after
Kashgari’s arrest. Many of his guests used to congregate informally, at
different coffee shops around Jidda, but they no longer feel it is safe to do
so. Their most frequent hangout, Bridges Cafe, was recently raided by the
religious police, and has been closed indefinitely. And that’s when Alkhair
began hosting the meetings in his living room. He insists on keeping them open
to the public, and has published his address and phone number online, even
though it has put him and his wife in a vulnerable position. Alkhair says they
woke up a one morning to a small fire lit outside their apartment door. “I
didn’t ask for revolution, I didn’t ask to change the system I just have my
small house and a lot of young people, I just speak freely in Twitter, a very
basic thing in the world, in other countries, so why do you punish me?”
The government has targeted Alkhair. He has just emerged from a month-long investigation by the Ministry of the Interior. Alkhair says the process involved two or three meetings a week with an investigator at the Ministry’s head office in Jidda, where intense questioning lasted up to eight hours. His investigator probed him about his weekly salons, his Twitter account, and whether or not he would ever take his criticisms to the streets in protest. At the end of the month, he was charged with “disrespecting the judicial system” and could face a year in prison if convicted.
Despite his own uncertain future, Alkhair is optimistic that freedom of speech will continue to grow, both online and outside the walls of his living room. “In just 10 years I have seen young people become very brave, and I wonder what will happen in the next five years, I think a lot will happen.” As one week’s meeting winds down, Alkhair and his wife pile up the empty teacups and he describes one of the last interrogation sessions he went through before receiving his charges. “I did not know how long these interrogations would last, so I told my investigator I was going on a hunger strike until they finished” He smirks as he repeats the investigator’s reaction. “He said, ‘fine’ then asked me nicely not to tweet about it.” Alkhair says little victories like that give him hope for the future." (thanks Sultan)
The government has targeted Alkhair. He has just emerged from a month-long investigation by the Ministry of the Interior. Alkhair says the process involved two or three meetings a week with an investigator at the Ministry’s head office in Jidda, where intense questioning lasted up to eight hours. His investigator probed him about his weekly salons, his Twitter account, and whether or not he would ever take his criticisms to the streets in protest. At the end of the month, he was charged with “disrespecting the judicial system” and could face a year in prison if convicted.
Despite his own uncertain future, Alkhair is optimistic that freedom of speech will continue to grow, both online and outside the walls of his living room. “In just 10 years I have seen young people become very brave, and I wonder what will happen in the next five years, I think a lot will happen.” As one week’s meeting winds down, Alkhair and his wife pile up the empty teacups and he describes one of the last interrogation sessions he went through before receiving his charges. “I did not know how long these interrogations would last, so I told my investigator I was going on a hunger strike until they finished” He smirks as he repeats the investigator’s reaction. “He said, ‘fine’ then asked me nicely not to tweet about it.” Alkhair says little victories like that give him hope for the future." (thanks Sultan)
