Bond stayed for ex-Twitter employee accused of spying for Saudi
US prosecutors have appealed a decision by a judge, who granted bond to a former Twitter employee accused of spying for Saudi Arabia, resulting in the ruling being stayed.
On Friday, Magistrate Judge Paula McCandlis, of the US District Court in Seattle, granted 41-year-old Ahmad Abouammo bond with travel restrictions while he was waiting for trial.
However, the ruling was stayed after prosecutors filed an appeal, according to an email by a spokeswoman for the US attorney’s office for the Western District of Washington.
Abouammo’s lawyer, Chris Black, had earlier said that an appeal would mean his client would remain detained until a District Court judge issued a ruling on McCandlis’ decision.
Authorities arrested Abouammo on Tuesday and he was indicted on spying charges the following day. In addition, Ali Alzabarah, 35, another former Twitter employer, and Ahmed Almutairi, 30, who worked for the Saudi royal family, are also facing similar charges.
Abouammo had access to the Twitter account of an important critic of the Saudi royal family in early 2015 on numerous occasions. He was also able to view the email address and telephone number associated with the account in once instance.
Abouammo was also able to access the account of another Saudi critic and got some information.
Twitter found out about Alzabarah’s unauthorized access, placing him on administrative leave in late 2015. However, he had managed to tap data from more than 6,000 accounts, 33 of which the Kingdom submitted law enforcement requests on, according to the complaint.
Almutairi is facing accusations of acting as a go-between for the Saudi government and the Twitter staff members.
Alzabarah and Almutairi are believed to be in Saudi Arabia and arrest warrants have been issued for them.
The indictment comes at a time when Saudi Arabia, a US ally with warm ties to President Donald Trump, has been under harsh criticism over its restrictions on human rights and the “extrajudicial killing” of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The charges also paint a bleak picture of how Silicon Valley companies protect user information, including from employees with no reason for having access to the data.
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