(Beirut) – A Saudi court sentenced 12 football fans from six months up to a year in prison on March 27, 2024, for peacefully chanting during a January football match, Human Rights Watch said today. Saudi authorities should immediately quash the verdict, which is based solely on the peaceful expression of exuberant football fans.
Saudi police summoned and arrested the fans after a video of them chanting a Shia religious song during a match was posted and spread on social media. The Saudi Criminal Court in Dammam sentenced two fans to one year in prison with a fine of 10,000…
