Former Grand Mosque imam jailed

Sheikh Saleh Al Talib, a former notable imam at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by Saudi Arabia’s Courts of Appeal.

The Organization for Democracy in the Arab World Now (DAWN) on August 22 confirmed that the specialised criminal Appeals Court in Riyadh jailed him after repealing his past ruling of acquittal, reports The Siasat Daily.

The Prisoners of Conscience account on Twitter, which works to report news of Saudi detainees, also confirmed that Sheikh Saleh Al Talib’s release ruling had been revoked and he had been handed down a 10-year sentence.

The former imam of the Grand Mosque was arrested in August 2018 as the Saudi authorities were arresting certain preachers as part of a campaign back then.

However, they did not issue any official explanation for his arrest.

Sheikh Saleh Al Talib was arrested after he reportedly gave a sermon denouncing mixed public gatherings.

He criticised concerts and events that strayed from the country’s cultural and religious “standards”.

He might not have criticised the Saudi royal family in his speeches, but the kingdom since 2018 has been easing laws on female attendance at public events.

Talib’s English and Arabic Twitter accounts were deactivated hours after his reported arrest in 2018.

Talib has a worldwide following alongside thousands of people viewing his sermons and Quran recitations on YouTube.

His family goes back to Huwtat Bani Taimi, from Hawtat Bani Tamim, which is a historic family in the Arabian Peninsula renowned for their brilliance in the sciences, judiciary, Sharia sciences and the Quran.

Sheikh Al Talib worked as a judge in the high and urgent court in Riyadh, as well as in courts in other governorates, and was a judge in the Great Court in Makkah Al-Mukarramah for three years, until his arrest four years ago.