Following a request made by the Saudi Arabia government, Netflix has pulled an episode of “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj.” The U.S. streaming service took down the episode, entitled “Saudi Arabia,” following a legal request from the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission, as it allegedly violated anti-cybercrime law.
The episode was critical of the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman following the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last year. Netflix released a statement revealing that it had been told the episode breached Saudi Arabia’s anti-cybercrime law, which states that anyone who produces, prepares or transmits material “impinging on public order, religious values, public morals, and privacy” will be subject to imprisonment for a period of up to five years and/or a fine of up to $799,850.
In a statement to CNBC, a Netflix spokesperson said, “We strongly support artistic freedom worldwide and only removed this episode in Saudi Arabia after we had received a valid legal request — and to comply with local law.”
Naturally, the removal of the episode drew backlash on social media over censorship concerns.
“It blows my mind that it took the killing of a Washington Post journalist for everyone to go, ‘Oh, I guess he’s really not a reformer,’” Minhaj said, referring to the royal. “Meanwhile, every Muslim person you know was like, ‘Yeah, no s—, he’s the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.’”
Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of advocacy group Human Rights Watch, said on Twitter: “Netflix’s claim to support artistic freedom means nothing if it bows to demands of government officials who believe in no freedom for their citizens — not artistic, not political, not comedic.”
By: Maytinee Kramer
