Dissident Saudi video blogger warned by Canadian police he is a target

Canadian police have warned Saudi Arabian dissident video blogger and activist, Omar Abdulaziz, who is living in exile in Montreal, that he is a “potential target” of officials back home and that he needs to take precautions to protect himself.

Abdulaziz, who had a close association and worked with Jamal Khashoggi, the murdered Saudi dissident and well-known journalist for the Washington Post newspaper, told the British daily newspaper Guardian that he believed he was facing a threat to his safety, and that the Canadian officials had credible information about a possible plan to harm him.

“[The Canadian authorities] received some information regarding my situation that I might be a potential target,” Abdulaziz said.

He added, “MbS [Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman] and his group or – I don’t know – his team, they want to harm me. They want to do something, but I don’t know whether it’s assassination, kidnapping, I don’t know – but something not OK for sure.”

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Abdulaziz said it was the first time that he had directly been called by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which is the country’s federal police force.

“They asked me, ‘What do you think about it?’ I said, ‘I’m happy,’” Abdulaziz told the Guardian, laughing. “I feel that I’m doing something. You know, if you’re not doing anything that bothers MbS, that means you’re not working very well.”

The Saudi dissident said he believed that such alleged threats emanated from the ultra-conservative kingdom as a way to stifle dissent, but that he would continue to challenge the ruling Riyadh regime.

“I don’t want to tell you that I’m scared. I’m not, honestly. But you have to take some precautions to be ready,” Abdulaziz pointed out.

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An attorney for the Saudi dissident confirmed the account.

“In his previous contacts with the Canadian government, he was always informed about the general threats and risks to him, but this time it is different,” Alaa Mahajna said.

He added, “The warning about serious threats to his life was different this time. It was formal and conveyed with a clear sense of urgency and advice to take precautions. It felt more credible and more concrete.”

Abdulaziz highlighted that he still felt safe in Canada despite the recent threat.

“At the end of the day, I’m fine. I’m OK here in Canada. I hope that they’re not going to do anything stupid,” the Saudi activist said.

Abdulaziz has spoken publicly about his campaign against the Saudi regime’s propaganda and its use of internet trolls on Twitter.

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Last year, he wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post and said he believed the Riyadh regime’s “coordinated campaign of harassment” was related to his work to combat Saudi trolls on Twitter, which he and Khashoggi called “electronic bees.”

Abdulaziz and Khashoggi had been reportedly seeking to mobilize an army of volunteers to counter the trolls, before the Washington Post columnist was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 2, 2018.

“That all changed with the rise of MbS. Saudi Twitter gradually morphed into a propaganda platform, with the government deploying trolls and pressuring influencers to amplify its messages,” Abdulaziz wrote in the op-ed.

“More than 30 influencers told me that the Saudi government blackmailed them with material obtained by hacking their phones. They were given two options: Tweet propaganda or have your private content, including pictures, released on Twitter.” the video blogger and activist, who has nearly half a million Twitter followers, wrote in the Post last year.

Meanwhile, the son of another Saudi exile living in Canada has expressed concern that his father, Saad Aljabri, could be targeted by Saudi agents in the North American country.

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“There have been genuine concerns about attempts to induce harm,” Khalid Aljabri said in a recent interview with the Globe and Mail newspaper.

Canadian authorities have voiced concern about the arrest and detention of Saad al-Jabri’s two adult children in Saudi Arabia, who have not been heard of since they disappeared from their home in March.

Jabri used to serve as a high-profile member of the Saudi intelligence service, and a right-hand man to former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef.

Bin Nayef was relieved of all positions by the royal decree of King Salman on June 21, 2017. 

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Diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Canada have been strained since 2018, when the latter’s then Foreign Minister and current Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland criticized the Riyadh regime’s heavy-handed crackdown on dissent.

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