'CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY' IS OFF-LIMITS FOR A

C O N F I D E N T I A L RIYADH 001920 SIPDIS SIPDIS DHAHRAN SENDS PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KMPI KIRF KPAO SA SUBJECT: 'CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY' IS OFF-LIMITS FOR A SAUDI JOURNALIST Classified By: Consul General John Kincannon for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d ). ¶1. (C) Nawal Al Yousif (protect),a Shi'a journalist and founder of www.saudiyat.net, noted in a meeting with the PAO on March 17, 2006 that mentioning a constitutional democracy in her writing crossed a red line with the Saudi Ministry of Interior. "The Mubahith (Investigative Police) came to see me, and said I could continue to write about women's rights, human rights and about the Shi'a," Ms. Al Yousif explained, "but told me not to write about the need for a constitutional democracy." Ms. Al Yousif's website remains accessible in Saudi Arabia. In response to this guidance, she no longer refers to constitutional democracy, but writes regularly about women's, human, and religious rights. ¶2. (SBU) Bionote: Nawal Al Yousif is a journalist from Seihat, a village near the oasis town of Qatif. After writing for the Eastern Province regional newspaper Al Yaum for several years, she resigned in 2003. Unable to find a permenant job, she decided in November 2005 to launch her own website. Since then www.saudiyat.net has had over 275,000 hits. End bionote. (APPROVED: KINCANNON) OBERWETTER