Human rights groups criticized Netflix Wednesday for pulling an episode in Saudi Arabia of comedian Hasan Minhaj’s “Patriot Act” series that criticized the kingdom’s Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Minhaj criticized MBS in the second episode of the series, released Oct. 28, over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the subsequent cover-up, and the Saudi-led coalition at war in Yemen, Associated Press reported.
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Removing the episode drew international attention to Minhaj and made it go viral. As a result, it may have been seen by many more people, the comedian said.
“Clearly, the best way to stop people from watching something is to ban it, make it trend online, and then leave it up on YouTube,” he tweeted on Wednesday.
Clearly, the best way to stop people from watching something is to ban it, make it trend online, and then leave it up on YouTube.
Let’s not forget that the world’s largest humanitarian crisis is happening in Yemen right now. Please donate: https://t.co/znMP8vyJma https://t.co/t2VUDhhIdB
— Hasan Minhaj (@hasanminhaj) January 2, 2019
Netflix said in a statement that the episode was not removed due to its content but because authorities asked Netflix to remove it — “a result of a legal request from authorities,” AP reported.
“We strongly support artistic freedom worldwide and removed this episode only in Saudi Arabia after we had received a valid legal demand from the government — and to comply with local law,” Netflix said.
Human rights groups disagreed.
Amnesty International said Saudi Arabia’s censorship of Netflix is “further proof of a relentless crackdown on freedom of expression.” PEN America, a literary and human rights organization, said the move “legitimizes repression.”
Khashoggi criticized the crown prince in newspaper columns. He was killed and dismembered by Saudi agents inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. The U.S. Senate said it believes the crown prince is responsible for the killing, but the kingdom insists he knew nothing.
In the “Patriot Act” episode removed by Netflix, Minhaj accused Saudi Arabia of covering up Khashoggi’s murder to protect MBS. Minhaj also criticized the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen and the power and wealth of the Saudi royal family, Business Insider reported.
The Saudi government forbade Khashoggi to write, appear on TV or tweet his opinions after he was critical of then-U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, according to an article in Marie Claire.
A Saudi citizen, Khashoggi fled the country in 2017 and had been living in Virginia “in self-exile,” he said. On Oct. 2, 2018, Khashoggi walked into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul to complete paperwork related to his divorce and disappeared.
The censored Netflix episode has been viewed more than 1.6 million times on YouTube, and it remains available to viewers in Saudi Arabia, according to Democracy Now.
“Now would be a good time to reassess our relationship with Saudi Arabia. And I mean that as a Muslim and as an American,” Minhaj said.
“Were you concerned that Netflix actually called it a valid request?” Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now, asked this question to Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa Division.
“Yes,” Whitson said. “I mean, it starts with the presumption that if there’s a local law, regardless of what international laws, human rights laws it violates, regardless of the absurdity of the law on its face, which basically says that facts and news are to be banned if they are hurtful or insulting to the crown prince, they’re going to comply with that.”
