Saudi Writer Deported Home To Face Blasphemy Charges

The New York Times reported yesterday that Saudi journalist Hamza Kashgari was stopped by Malaysian authorities at Kuala Lumpur airport on Thursday and was deported back to Saudi Arabia at the request of the Saudi king where the journalist will face blasphemy charges. The journalist has angered Saudis by writing in a series of tweets on Twitter about an imaginary meeting with the Prophet Muhammad. The Daily Beast quotes some of the tweets. Human Rights Watch says that Kashgari will face a possible death sentence in Saudi Arabia. Kashgari was attempting to fly on to New Zealand when he was detained.  A lawyer hired by Kashgari's family obtained an order from a Malaysian court on Sunday that would stop Kashgari's deportation, but the lawyer discovered that Kashgari had by then already been returned to the Saudis on a private Saudi jet.