Riyadh, Jan. 15 -- A 66-year-old Saudi preacher and academic Awad bin Mohammed Al-Qarni, has been handed a death sentence for using social media platforms- Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram, to spread news considered "hostile" to the Kingdom, local media reported.

Al-Qarni was arrested in September 2017 as part of a campaign of arrests that included at least 20 people, including the prominent preacher, Salman al-Awda.

British newspaper stated that it had seen Saudi court documents and details of the charges against Al-Qarni by his son, Nasser, who fled the Kingdom in 2022 and is currently living in the United Kingdom after requesting protection.

A charges against Al-Qarni, include an admission that he used a Twitter account unde...