RIYADH, 17 April 2006 — Across Saudi Arabia, reports of character assassination are increasing, as people with axes to grind spread lies about others from the anonymity of Internet chatrooms and blogs or SMS messages.
The attacks can range from innocuous name calling to serious accusations of capital crimes, Al-Riyadh newspaper reported. Once impugned, victims have little recourse against the voices from the shadows. Such attacks have prompted some to call for additional regulation of the information superhighway. Others call for inclusion of such irresponsible behavior under existing laws against libel and slander.
“Internet libel is a crime that attacks people’s reputations, and it should be beneath Saudi society,” said Zamil Al-Rakkad, a Saudi attorney. “It’s becoming normal to attack people online over a difference of opinion or because an employee wants to damage the reputation of his boss.”
According to Al-Rakkad, such attacks could be prosecuted under existing Shariah laws against lying, slander and perjury.
Another Saudi attorney said he thought new statutes should be created to ban the notorious practice.
“Using the Internet for purposes other than were intended is wrong,” said Muhammad Al-Mushawa, a lawyer and consultant. “These people work in the dark and do nothing but damage the reputations of people. Most of the time there is no evidence to substantiate their claims, and their identities are hidden. In order to eliminate the problem for good, we must work hard to create laws against it and punish those who are caught.”
A disturbing example of character assassination was reported in Al-Riyadh newspaper when it examined the case of Abdullah Al-Rasheed, a human resource manager at a private Riyadh company. Two years ago, a story surfaced on the Internet that accused him and two other men of kidnapping and repeatedly raping a young girl who, according to the story, later became addicted to drugs and died after an automobile accident.
The story included his full name and mobile phone number, which led to telephone curses and threats of physical violence both to him and members of his family. Al-Rasheed finally sought the help of police to put an end to the allegations.
“Some people believe what is written on the Internet without trying first to find out whether the story is true or false,” Al-Rasheed said. “These people who are attacking me don’t realize that one day they too will be victims of such rumors. I finally received a phone call from whom I believe was the man behind the false rumor about me. He told me to return to God or else he would continue spreading false stories about me.”
“Libeling people is against Islam because it isolates those libeled from the rest of society,” said Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Askar, a teacher of Islamic studies at Imam ibn Saud University in Riyadh. “Libeling officials and individuals on the Internet claiming that it is a form of advice goes against the rules of advising. It is instead a form of retaliation. People who commit such acts suffer from inferiority complexes and psychological problems.”
A Jeddah bank employee found himself in similar straits recently after being tasked with firing an employee for nonperformance. A week later, a popular website carried a posting accusing him of sexual harassment of women employees at the bank. The man was annoyed by the story, but he had no evidence to link the story to the employee he fired.
“You just have to tell callers that the entire story is false and that you have nothing to do with it and that people who want to ruin your reputation are behind it,” Al-Rasheed said.
