Bloomberg reveals: Saudi spying on Twitter led to the arrest of Al-Sadhan and others

Bloomberg revealed today, Wednesday, that Saudi spying on Twitter led to the arrest of the activist Abdul Rahman Al-Sadhan and others, while the US judiciary is looking into the case again in early September.

Al-Sadhan's sister was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that spies working for Saudi Arabia on Twitter had access to 6,000 subscribers.

Al-Sadhan's sister said, "My brother was active in human rights issues and ran an account on Twitter with an unknown identity. Saudi security arrested him in March 2018."

The agency quoted human rights organizations as confirming the arrest of six Saudi citizens who were running Twitter accounts with hidden identities.

And Bloomberg considered that the lawsuit against Twitter about Riyadh spies did not receive a media spread that amounts to the results of the hacking process.

The agency revealed that the former advisor to the Saudi royal court, Saud Al-Qahtani, threatened opponents that the government had its ways to reach the owners of fake accounts, and warned those who run fake accounts that this does not protect them.

New appointment

Last Monday, the US judiciary announced setting a new date to look into the case of Saudi authorities spying on Twitter and using information to track down dissidents with the aim of harming them.

The San Francisco, California, court has set the second of next September for the start of new hearings for the trial of Ahmed Abu Ammo, a former Twitter employee accused of spying for Saudi Arabia.

The US Department of Justice has charged Abu Ammo with illegal work for a foreign government, money laundering, vandalism, unlawful appropriation, and altering or falsifying records during a federal investigation.

The case also includes two Saudi defendants, Ahmed Al-Mutairi, also known as Ahmed Al-Jabreen, and Ali Al-Zabara.

Al-Mutairi works as an assistant to Badr Al-Asaker, director of the office of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, while Zabara is accused of using his work on Twitter to hand over information about Saudi dissidents to the Saudi authorities.