Former Twitter Employee Convicted as Saudi Spy

What does it cost to trade out and hand over the private information of the critics for a despotic authorities ? obviously $ 300,000 and a courteous watch . A former Twitter employee was convict on six of his original 11 count of operating as an factor for Saudi Arabia . The verdict come down late Tuesday , and all that ’s left is sentencing , which could be up to 20 years in federal prison house .

Union prosecutorssaidthat former Twitter employee Ahmad Abouammo , a U.S. resident born in Egypt who go for two-fold U.S.-Lebanese citizenship , worked as a media partnership handler , helping promote the company while working with journalists and celebrity in the Middle East and north Africa . Feds further claimed that while in that job he had been process as a spy on behalf of the Saudi-Arabian Arabian government from previous 2014 to March 2015 .

He was convicted of being an broker for a foreign power , as well as money laundering and confederacy to commit telegram fraud for trying to wire money to Saudi-Arabian accounts , but the original charges go much deeper than that . accord to theoriginal complaint , prosecuting officer also say that Abouammo had been play on behalf of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to wrestle his means through Twitter ’s internal systems to share personal information on Saudi critics and dissidents .

Photo: Jed Jacobsohn (AP)

Bloombergreported that prosecuting officer show that Abouammo received $ 300,000 in telegram transfer in bribes from MBS ’ adjutant in exchange for Twitter account info . Feds also aver Abouammo received an expensive Hublot watch for his trouble . The trial run go two and a half week before he was finally convicted . Bloombergalso reportedthat the court restricted prosecutors from telling the jury that the U.S. believed the crown prince used this Twitter info to detain and torture supposed critics .

Abouammo was represented by San Francisco public shielder Angela Chuang , agree to reports . She did not immediately react to Gizmodo ’s request for comment . Chuang reportedly told the jury Twitter botched their own investigation and was careless in cover Twitter users ’ data point . A fellow person charged in the original complaint , Ali Alzabarah , fly to Saudi Arabia , and Chuang manifestly criticized the troupe and the U.S. for countenance him go even as he was under surveillance .

Twitter declined to comment on the verdict , but the troupe did say they have been collaborate with law enforcement throughout the test , and they antecedently bear their own investigation and notified users if they were bear upon .

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Despite it being years since Twitter fired the alleged spy , the social culture medium caller has not been able to take to the woods accusations of aiding Saudi Arabia . In a disjoined civil shell , Ali al - Ahmed , a self - described critic of Saudi Arabia who had been grant asylum in the U.S.,sued the social media companyin later 2021 . He tell his account was one of those Abouammo hacked , and say the company had effectively collaborated and otherwise turned a blind eye to the Saudi-Arabian authorities ’s attack on objector . attorney later agreed to dismiss the pillow slip in July .

Though the armorial bearing against Abouammo were n’t lodge until 2019 , investigations in the wake of the roughshod execution of Saudi critic and Washington Post journalistJamal Khashoggibrought the young Saudi royal ’s online catching campaigns to the public heart . A 2018New York Timesinvestigation following Khashoggi ’s murder showed how the crown prince help sick legion of Twitter accounts to chivy the journalist . That news report also showed how effective the royal has been at using Twitter to prop up his government . Bin Salman has also been well known for beingbuddy - buddywith many of the globe ’s biggest tech company and their chief executive officer .

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal have $ 300 million worth of farm animal in Twitter . While the fellow prince was originally skeptical of Tesla CEO Elon Musk ’s be after and screw up takeover of the company , bin Talal laterpledged $ 1.9 billionto help with the purchase .

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