Journalist Deported to Saudi Over ‘Sacrilegious’ Tweets

An allegedly 'sacrilegious' Saudi journalist, who was detained in Malaysia recently, has been deported to his home country over the weekend, according to reports.

Malaysian police detained the 23-year-old Saudi journalist Hamza Kashgari, on Thursday, for posting alleged blasphemous tweets on the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad.

Kashgari, poet and former columnist for Saudi Daily al-Bilad based in Jeddah, tweeted last week: I have loved things about you and I have hated things about you and there is a lot I don't understand about you. I will not pray for you, according to the AFP.

On your birthday, I will say that I have loved the rebel in you, that you've always been a source of inspiration to me, and that I do not like the halos of divinity around you. I shall not pray for you, he wrote in another tweet.

On your birthday, I shall not bow to you. I shall not kiss your hand. Rather, I shall shake it as equals do, and smile at you as you smile at me. I shall speak to you as a friend, no more, he wrote in a third tweet.

The tweet raised a massive hue and cry. Kashgari received more than 30,000 responses and even several death threats.

Saudi King Abdullah, who was clearly not happy with the controversial tweets, ordered Kashgari's arrest for crossing red lines and denigrating religious beliefs in God and His Prophet.

Kashgari, apparently trying to flee Malaysia, was detained at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and deported at the request of Saudi government.

Saudi Arabian authorities must revoke the request to arrest Hamza Kashgari for exercising his right to freedom of expression, said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for Middle East and North Africa.

Blasphemy is a crime punishable by death in Saudi Arabia.