This Saudi activist has reportedly been arrested after a video surfaced in which she called Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman ‘Mr Bone Saw’ in reference to the gruesome murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
Activist Amani Al-Zain, 40, was reportedly detained in her home in the city of Jeddah in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia after the video from October 2019 was recently circulated online.
In the live video call with Egyptian political activist Wael Ghoniem, a key figure in Egypt’s 2011 Arab Spring protests, Al-Zain jokingly referred to Mohammad Bin Salman as ‘Abu Munshar’ (Mr Bone Saw), the term used by the New York Times after Khashoggi’s gruesome murder in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.
Supports of the Crown Prince recently began circulating the video and calling for Al-Zain’s arrest, with some claiming that she must be an agent working for Saudi Arabia’s enemies.
Her arrest was reported by Prisoners of Conscience, which tracks political arrests in Saudi Arabia, and by advocacy group the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), based in Beirut.
The Geneva Council for Rights and Liberties wrote: “GCHR calls for the immediate release of Amani Alzain and for all those arrested in violation of their right to freedom of expression, including women’s rights defenders.”
Reports suggest she was arrested on 17th May. The Saudi authorities are yet to comment on the situation.
Dissident journalist Khashoggi was murdered and dismembered after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain documents for his marriage.
Amani Al-Zaini 
Amani Al-Zaini
On 11 March 2020, the US State Department blamed Saudi Arabian government agents for Khashoggi’s death with many parties around the world claiming the Crown Prince had personally ordered the assassination.
The Saudi leader denies any direct prior knowledge of the murder.
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Story By: Alex Cope, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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