According to Global Voices Advocacy, Al Farhan was arrested on 10 December 2007 for unspecified “violation of non-security regulations.”

Saudi Arabia:

For Saudi Jeans, Al Farhan’s release was a good way to start his day. He writes:

I woke up around 5:30 this morning on the beeping of my iPhone which received a short message from the wife of my friend and fellow blogger Fouad al-Farhan telling me that Fouad has been released and that he is back home with his family now. That’s great news and this is just how I wanted to start my morning!

Al Farhan’s fellow blogger, Mashi 97 (Ar), from Saudi Arabia, received more than 140 congratulatory comments when he made this announcement:

قبل دقائق قليلة فقط

رجع المدون السعودي فؤاد أحمد الفرحان لمنزله بعد خروجه من السجن .

الحمدلله الحمدلله الحمدلله

A few minutes ago only
Saudi blogger Fouad Ahmed Al Farhan has returned home after being released from prison.
Thank Allah, Thank Allah, Thank Allah.

Another Saudi blogger Ibrahim (Ar) wants an explanation to why Al Farhan was arrested. He writes:

في الأمس كنا فرحين بالإفراج عن فؤاد الفرحان
ولازلنا فرحين
ولكن سؤالي .. ماذا بعد الإفراج عن فؤاد؟
أربعة أشهر قضاها الأخ فؤاد في سجن أو توقيف ( مانختلف ) تحت الإستجواب
وكان السبب في كل هذا هو ” تهمة غير أمنيه” و ” إختراق لبعض اللوائح ”
وأستغرب من هذه الكلمات الفضفاضه
أنا كمدون أحب أن أعرف ماهي اللوائح التي تم اختراقها , ليتم تفاديها
أو ماهي التهم الغير أمنيه ليتم تفاديها أيضاً
هذا في حال أنها تستحق هذا المسمى (اختراق للوائح) فكلنا يجب أن يعرف ماهي اللوائح المخترقه

Yesterday were were happy for Fouad Al Farhan’s release.
And we are still happy.
But my question is .. what after Fouad’s release?
He spent four months in prison or custody (we won’t differ on this), where he was interrogated.
The reason given was “a non-security related accusation” and “breaking some laws.”
I am surprised at those vague words.
As a blogger, I want to know what are the laws he has broken so that we don’t commit them and what are the non-security related offences, so that we can overcome them. In case they deserve to be labelled as “breaking laws,” we all need to know what are the laws which have been broken.

Rasheed Abou-Alsamh too has questions in his head and writes:

Fouad was arrested in Jeddah on Dec. 10, 2007, and was held in a detention center for for more than four months because of the various entries on his blog that called for less corruption and more accountability in Saudi Arabia.

Will he continue blogging now that he has been released? That is a question that only Fouad can answer. I’m sure we will find out soon enough. For now, Fouad probably just wants to forget his ordeal and bond with is family.

Egypt:

From Egypt, Al Anany is also excited about Al Farhan’s release and shares the following wish:

اليوم فرحة المدونين العرب وبالخصوص السعوديين منهم لا توصف بعد الإفراج اليوم عن المدون السعودي فؤاد الفرحان .. ومن هنا ، من سيناء نهنئ أنفسنا وكل من آزر فؤاد الفرحان بخروجه من السجن وعودته الي منزله ، ونتمنى من الله عز وجل أن يتم الإفراج عن كل المدونين العرب ، وعن مسعد أبو فجر ابن سيناء وصاحب مدونة ودنا نعيش

Today is a happy day for Arab bloggers, and in particular the Saudis, whose happiness cannot be measured after the release of Saudi blogger Fouad Al Farhan. From here, from Sinai, we congratulate ourselves and all those who stood by Fouad until his release from prison and his return home. We ask Allah for the release of all Arab bloggers, especially Musad Abu Fajr, the son of Sinai, who runs the blog, We Want to Live.

Still in Egypt, Zeinobia awaits the news of the release of another blogger - this time in Syria. She writes:

Congratulations for Fouad and his family.
Hopefully all the other bloggers detained in the Arab world will be free soon and return to other families especially Tarek from Syria.

Bahrain:

Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif is still scratching his head. He writes:

We don’t know the details of his release and what he had to give up or sign for the authorities to finally let him go, I suspect we will hear his stories quite soon - I hope.
In any case, I am very happy indeed for his release.
Welcome home Fouad!

Bahraini Esra’a wonders if Al Farhan will continue blogging after his release. She writes:

We are really happy to see him safe and free, however I wonder if he will continue blogging after what had happened. Let’s hope that he will never endure what he has gone through these past few months.

Sudan:

The Sudanese Thinker makes the following announcement:

Saudi blogger Fuad alFarhan has finally been released after spending 137 days in jail for simply speaking his mind politely and eloquently. Meanwhile, the Saudi government has no problem whatsoever allowing the shouts and rants of many preachers of death.

Lovely!

Meanwhile, The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (Ar) demands the lifting of the ban on Al Farhan’s blog in Saudi Arabia. It says:

من الجيد التراجع عن استمرار اعتقال فؤاد الفرحان ، ولكن رغم سعادتنا بالإفراج عنه ، فنحن ننتظر أن تعلن الحكومة السعودية بوضوح أسباب اعتقاله ، ومن كان صاحب قرار اعتقاله ، و أن يرفع الحجب عن مدونته فورا”.

It is good that Fouad Al Farhan is no longer arrested, but despite our happiness with his release, we are waiting for the Saudi government to announce clearly why he was arrested and who ordered his arrest. We also call for the immediate lift of the ban on his blog.

Nido explains:

Abdulla Mohsen has been in prison now more than four months. What is he accused of? Well apparently he and more than thirty others are accused of being involved in the theft of a weapon and in burning a police jeep. This, if you will remember, happened way back in December after the protest that accompanied the funeral of Ali Jassem, who died in as yet unclear circumstances after participating in a demonstration on December 17. Dozens of people were arrested, including Abdulla.

Nido adds, that the blogger’s health is a cause of concern. He writes:

In any case, several sources indicated that Abdulla’s health situation is a constant worry. Apparently he is suffering from severe kidney problems, and his family are very worried about his situation. At one point he even had to be moved to the hospital due to his deteriorating health. His family have been kept in the dark with minimal information about his status or whereabouts.

What is infuriating Nido most, however, is the total lack of empathy from bloggers and online activists to Abdulla’s plight. He says:

The situation is very depressing. There are several reports of torture and beatings of the detainees. There isn’t much that we can do except bring attention to Abdulla’s and the rest of the detainees’ plight. Other than the Arabic forums, there has been very little coverage or discussion online about their situation, unlike previous cases of bloggers being arrested or brought to prosecution. If you have a blog or a forum or even a contact somewhere, I ask you that you please write about them, put a post up, or at least raise their issue. This is the least we can do, as one can only imagine what they are going through.

Chanad Bahraini picks off where Nido left and writes:

As Nido points out, Abdullah would not hurt a fly, and the charges against him are clearly cooked up. I got to know him at the countless protests and demonstrations he attended, always in his dark suit and white shirt (no tie), quiet, very polite, and an extremely nice guy.

He also draws our attention to another activist behind bars - Hassan Abdulnabi - and says:

Another regular activist who has been detained is Hassan Abdulnabi. I have only met him once, but always saw him at the protests. He was always at the frontlines doing his best to prevent any conflict between the riot police and the demonstrators. He has been in and out of jail because of his activities with the Unemployment Comittee, and was seriously injured at least once after being attacked by riot police in 2005, leaving him on crutches for several weeks.

Once again he faces state violence.

Chanad goes further and adds:

Obviously, the men have been rounded up not because there is any evidence against them, but because they dared to speak out. They will hopefully be released eventually — but not without first giving them, and other potential activists, something to think about before speaking out again.

Abdulla Mohsen, who is still awaiting trial, is not in jail for his blogging activities. The Bahrain Human Rights Centre has been active in calling for Mohsen’s release, along with the other activists rounded up after the December protests. The centre itself is banned in Bahrain and its website is blocked.

This is not the first nor the last electronic site the Bahraini Authorities prevent access to local residents. At one instance early this year, the number of barred sites exceeded 26 (local and international) as a result of reporting of the violations in Bahrain, mainly the issue of what was locally dubbed as “Bandergate report”. This report shows a compilation of secret documents leaked from the Royal Court and elucidating a detailed action plan to sow sectarian sedition among citizens, create fake NGO’s controlled by the Authorities, penetration as well as controlling civic organizations. The blockade order is executed by the main internet government owned company BATELCO, and is carried out administratively and without any judicial procedure.

According to Bahraini blogger Mahmoud Al-Yousif “If the policy of blocking Internet access to web sites in Bahrain falls on the shoulders of the Ministry of Information” this might be one of the first orders of the new-appointed minister, Jihad Bu Kamal.