The Saudi embassy has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Two ex-employees of the microblogging and social networking website, Twitter, have been accused by the United States (US) of spying for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by digging up private information on users and selling it to the Arab nation for an amount of money. A third man from Saudi Arabia has also been accused of being part of the conspiracy, according to a complaint filed by the US Justice Department on Wednesday.
According to the complaint, the two-ex employees of Twitter Inc., Ali Alzabarah and Ahmad Abouammo, abused their positions in the company to access private information like email id and phone numbers of Saudi critics on the website and selling them later for payment, which included cash and other rewards, such as an expensive watch. The complaint details that Abouammo repeatedly accessed the Twitter account of a prominent critic of the Saudi royal family in early 2015. In one instance, he was able to view the email address and telephone number associated with the account. He also accessed the account of a second Saudi critic to get personally identifiable information.
"This information could have been used to identify and locate the Twitter users who published these posts," the Justice Department said in a statement.
The two employees, along with Ahmed Almutairi, who then worked for the Saudi royal family, face charges of working for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia without registering as foreign agents. Almutairi is accused of acting as the link between the Saudi nation and the former Twitter employees. While Ahmad Abouammo was arrested from Seattle in Washington, Ali Alzabarah and Ahmed Almutairi are still in Saudi Arabia, the US Justice Department said. Abouammo was ordered to remain behind bars by a US magistrate judge on Wednesday pending a detention hearing set for Friday. The US Attorney's Office said in a court filing it wants Abouammo detained pending trial because of a "serious risk" of flight.
The Saudi embassy has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Twitter Inc., in a statement, has said that it was grateful to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and US Justice Department. "We recognize the lengths bad actors will go to try and undermine our service," the statement said, "We understand the incredible risks faced by many who use Twitter to share their perspectives with the world and to hold those in power accountable."
(With Zee Media newsroom inputs)
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