The Specialised Criminal Appeals Court in Riyadh sentenced has sentenced a prominent former Imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah Sheikh Saleh al Talib to 10 years in prison.
Dawn, a US-based rights group Democracy for the Arab World Now, founded by the late journalist Jamal Khashoggi, confirmed Talib’s court sentencing on Twitter.
Saudi authorities first detained Talib in 2018 and gave no reason for his arrest, which came after he delivered a sermon criticising the General Entertainment Authority, a government body in charge of regulating the entertainment industry.
Sheikh Saleh al Talib condemned concerts and events that he said broke away from the country’s religious and cultural norms.
His arrest comes as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman continues his drive to reform Saudi society and diversify the Gulf kingdom’s oil-dependent economy.
Since MBS assumed de facto power as crown prince, rights groups say authorities have arrested dozens of several prominent clerics and imams who are critical of his reform agenda.
Talib has a global following, with thousands of people watching his sermons and recitations of the Quran on YouTube.
Abdullah Alaoudh, a spokesperson for Dawn, condemned the prison sentence and said it was part of a growing pattern of clerics and imams facing imprisonment for speaking out against reforms pursued by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
