A dual US-Saudi citizen and celebrated animator with a Netflix deal says he's facing decades in prison in Saudi Arabia because of his art. Abdulaziz Almuzaini, the man behind Masameer, a cartoon likened to South Park, and a spinoff Netflix show Masameer County, has been publicly celebrated by the kingdom, along with his sardonic cartoons. But behind closed doors, the Texas-born creator has been convicted of supporting extremist ideology, sentenced to 13 years in prison, and banned from leaving Saudi Arabia for another 13 years, the New York Times reports, noting his case is "the starkest example yet of the duality of the new Saudi Arabia," focused on fostering art and allowing more personal freedoms while cracking down on freedom of expression at the same time.
"I haven't committed a single crime in the kingdom. I haven't even run a red light," Almuzaini said in a video shared and deleted on the same day last week. He pleaded for help from Saudi leadership, saying he'd exhausted all avenues for appeal and was awaiting a final decision from the Saudi Supreme Court. He appeared to remain free even after the video was deleted, which is strange given his conviction. But then Almuzaini isn't just anybody. He's credited with helping bring Saudi content to global audiences, per the Wall Street Journal. Even after his conviction, he attended a state gala and promoted the country's film industry on state television, indicating he is of some value to leadership, the Times reports.
Still, Masameer, a cartoon that first appeared on YouTube more than a decade ago, has been critical of Saudi Arabia's religious restrictions, classist system, and discriminatory practices against women. Additionally, Almuzaini claimed a 2021 episode of Masameer County, in which the main character gets taken in by jihadists and joins the Islamic State, was interpreted as showing support for the terrorist group, though the episode is actually "openly derogatory toward the jihadists," the Times reports. Prosecutors also apparently found fault with old social media posts in which Almuzaini "ridiculed Arab regimes," per the Journal. The animator said officials assured him the case was overblown and all would be resolved. "I never thought it would reach this phase," he said. (More Saudi Arabia stories.)
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