Karnataka man in Saudi jail since 2019, fake FB ID in his name led to arrest

In 2019, Shailesh had put up a Facebook message in support of the CAA and NRC, but unknown people opened a fake Facebook account in his name and posted objectionable posts against the King of Saudi Arabia and Islam.

Mangaluru (Karnataka): A person from the city has been jailed in Saudi Arabia since 2019 after someone hacked his Facebook account and posted derogatory comments about the Saudi King. Due to this mischief, Shailesh Kumar is suffering in a Saudi Arabia jail.

Shailesh Kumar, 52, was working with a company in Saudi Arabia for 25 years while his wife, Kavitha, lived at her native place, Bikarnakatte near Mangaluru in Dakshina Kannada district, with their children. In 2019, Shailesh Kumar had put up a message on Facebook in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), but unknown people opened a fake Facebook account in his name and posted objectionable posts against the King of Saudi Arabia and Islam.

Shailesh brought it to the notice of the company where he worked and went to a local police station in Saudi Arabia to file a complaint on February 20. However, the Saudi police arrested him under the pretext of interrogation. He was later sent to jail by a local court. After 6 months of arrest, Shailesh called his wife Kavitha from jail and informed her about his arrest.

Kavitha said that no one supported her husband. She then approached the Mangalore City Cyber Police Station seeking help. The cops wrote to Facebook and asked for appropriate documents, but they did not get any response. Kavitha then approached the Karnataka High Court seeking justice.

On June 15, the Karnataka High Court warned Facebook that it would not back away from issuing an order to close down the social media giant's activities in India, due to its alleged non-cooperation with the state's police regarding an investigation of the case involving Shailesh Kumar.

"The Saudi Arabia court, the Centre, officials, and people's representatives should help us," Kavitha said. "I am hoping for Shailesh's early release. Several months after his arrest, we approached the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia, but the embassy officials showed no interest in trying to release him. I have pleaded to several leaders including Member of Parliament Nalin Kumar Kateel, Sadananda Gowda, Union Ministers Prahlad Joshi and S Jaishankar, but nobody has responded yet," added Kavitha.