Cartoonist sentencing shows Saudis’ ‘determination to silence any voice,’ analysts say

The decision by Saudi authorities to sentence a cartoonist to an extra 23 years in prison marks an escalation in the kingdom’s suppression of dissent, analysts say. Mohammed al-Ghamdi, a cartoonist for Qatar-based Lusail newspaper, was already serving six years on a range of charges. But a court in October reopened the case and sentenced him to an additional 23 years without the possibility of appeal. Known as al-Hazza, al-Ghamdi gained prominence for cartoons that critiqued Saudi policies and highlighted sociopolitical issues in the Gulf. But his work, considered by some as sympathetic to Qatar during a politically tense period

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