Saudi security forces have arrested a well-known popular poet after he satirized the head of the entertainment authority, Turki al-Sheikh, adviser to the royal court, Saudi activists said.
The poet Hamoud bin Qasi al-Subaie organized a poem in which the Sheikh al-Sheikh accused him of corrupting Saudi society and violating its traditions, days after the start of the Riyadh season of musical events.
Al-Subaie touched on the Yemen war, in which Saudi Arabia lost thousands of its soldiers dead and wounded, and considered that the entertainment activities offended their efforts in the war.
The Saudi "Detainees of Conscience" account on Twitter said the arrest was not limited to Subaie but also to the poem's video designer, Consul Subaie.
Activists have also circulated unconfirmed reports that authorities have arrested poet Safar al-Dghailbi for including opposition signals in one of his poems about what the entertainment authority has done.
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⤵️ Below is a TRANSLATION of the poem of Hmood bin Gasi al-Subaie, in which he criticizes Turki Aal al-Sheikh and warns King Salman of the coming danger if he ignores Turki's insistence on spreading corruption. TeLfIDP6NE - Prisoners of Conscience (@ m3takl_en) October 21, 2019 |