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[[File:Dammam, Saudi Arabia locator map.png|thumb|Dammam, Saudi Arabia]]
'''Alaa Brinji''' (Arabic: علاء برنجي ), born about 1984, is a [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]] [[journalist]]. He received a sentence of five years in a Saudi Arabian prison after he posted on [[Twitter]] in support of [[human rights]] and women driving cars.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-journalist-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-tweets-ridiculing-islamic-religious-a6953266.html|title=Journalist jailed for tweets 'ridiculing Islamic religious figures' in Saudi Arabia|date=25 March 2016|publisher=}}</ref><ref>https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-03-25/saudi-journalist-alaa-brinji-sentenced-to-5-years-for-tweets-rights-group-says</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35898986|title=Saudi journalist jailed over critical tweets|date=25 March 2016|publisher=|via=www.bbc.com}}</ref>  Brinji writes for the Saudi newspapers Al Sharq, Al Bilad, and Okaz.<ref name="rsf.org">{{cite web|url=https://rsf.org/en/news/saudi-journalist-alaa-brinji-jailed-over-series-tweets|title=Saudi journalist Alaa Brinji jailed over series of tweets - Reporters without borders|publisher=}}</ref>

=== Biography ===

Brinji was born around 1984.  In 2012 he went to work for [[Al Sharq]] ("the Orient") newspaper. He was arrested in Dammam when he returned from a trip to Bahrain with his family. He was taken to [[Dammam]] prison.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://anhri.net/?p=151212|title=الصحفي السعودي علاء برنجي يقبع في السجن دون تهمة رسمية منذ أكثر من سنة|publisher=}}</ref> 

Brinji was arrested on May 12, 2014. He was held in solitary confinement and not permitted to speak to anyone.  He was not allowed access to a lawyer.   On March 24, 2016, he was convicted by Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court (SCC), a counter-terrorism court.  The charges were “insulting the rulers of the country”, “inciting public opinion”, “accusing security officers of killing protesters in Awamiyya”, “ridiculing Islamic religious figures” and “violating Article 6 of the Anti-Cyber Crime Law”. He received a travel ban for eight years and a fine of 50,000 Saudi riyals (about $13,300 USD). The court also ordered his Twitter account closed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/03/saudi-arabia-journalist-sentenced-to-five-years-in-prison-for-tweets-latest-victim-of-ruthless-crackdown/|title=Saudi Arabia: Journalist sentenced to five years in prison for tweets latest victim of crackdown|publisher=}}</ref>

International groups criticized the Saudi government because Brinjui did not have a lawyer and because he had a skin condition and did not have a cell with a daylight.<ref name="rsf.org"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://features.hrw.org/features/HRW_2016_reports/140_Characters/index.html#en|title=140 Characters: Online Activists Harassed and Jailed in Arab Gulf States - Human Rights Watch|publisher=}}</ref><ref name="rsf.org"/>

== References == 
{{reflist}}

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[[Category:Political prisoners]]
[[Category:Saudi Arabian people]]
[[Category:Journalists]]
[[Category:Living people]]