The 24-year-old could have faced the death penalty for merely posting on the social networking site
According to the Gulf News, a court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced a gay man to three years in prison and 450 lashes “for using his Twitter account to promote homosexual contacts.”
The man, 24, was arrested after he posted several tweets calling for homosexual relations and expressing his readiness to meet gay men, local daily Al Watan reported on Tuesday.
The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, the religious police, was alerted about the tweets and was able to apprehend the young man after it set him up using an undercover agent.
The court decided that the 450 lashes would be given over 15 sessions.
Homosexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf Cooperation Council states that comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
In Saudi Arabia, convicted LGBTI people face lashings, fines, floggings, up to life imprisonment, torture, chemical castrations and death. If the 24-year-old is convicted twice, then he will likely be executed.
Washington Post / LGBT Weekly / Gay Star News
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