Saudi courts are dealing with 39 lawsuits filed against government agencies during the first quarter of this year, according to figures released by the Ministry of Justice.

However, Mohammad Al-Asiri, a law expert, told a local publication that government bodies have filed double this number against citizens. “The most prominent lawsuits in this regard include insulting officials.” Sentences for offenders in these cases range between one and five years in prison, he said.

Such lawsuits include the case involving some men in the Eastern Province who wrote celebratory messages on their cars after the removal of Abdullatif Al-Asheikh as head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.