Saudi man sentenced to 10 years in prison and 2,000 lashes after posting about his atheism on Twitter

Sentenced: The unnamed man will spend 10 years in prison and endure 2,000 lashes
Lauren Hurley/PA Wire
Laura Proto27 February 2016

A man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and 2,000 lashes for posting hundreds of messages on Twitter about being an atheist.

Religious police in charge of monitoring social networks in Saudi Arabia found more than 600 tweets denying the existence of God, ridiculing Koranic verses, accusing all prophets of lies and saying their teachings fuelled hostilities.

The Al-Watan online daily reported a 28-year-old man admitted being an atheist and refused to repent.

He reportedly said what he wrote reflected his own beliefs and that he had the right to express them.

The man, who was not named in the Al-Watan report, was jailed for 10 years, sentenced to 2,000 lashes and fined £3,800 [20,000 Saudi riyal].

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