Omar Abdulaziz (vlogger)
Omar Abdulaziz Al-Zahrani | |
|---|---|
| Born | Saudi Arabia |
| Occupation(s) | Dissident, activist, YouTuber |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Known for | Criticism of Saudi government, partnership with Jamal Khashoggi |
Omar Abdulaziz Al-Zahrani () is a Saudi dissident and activist who produces video content from Montreal, Canada.[1] He maintained a close relationship with Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist murdered by agents of the Saudi government at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Al-Zahrani is connected to the National Assembly Party.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name
Biography
Abdulaziz runs a satirical program on YouTube that critiques the Saudi government.[2] According to consulting firm McKinsey & Company, he ranks among the top Saudi influencers on Twitter.[2]
After his student scholarship was revoked as a consequence of his outspoken criticism against the Saudi regime, he applied for asylum in Canada in 2014 and was granted permanent residency by 2017.[1][3]
Following Khashoggi’s exile in 2017, Abdulaziz partnered with him on multiple initiatives.[1] In 2018, his mobile device was infiltrated by spyware, revealing communications between him and Khashoggi.[1]Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name Subsequent to Khashoggi’s killing, Saudi authorities placed Abdulaziz’s two brothers and several associates under house arrest due to their association with him.[1][3]
His story is featured in The Dissident (2020), a documentary directed by Bryan Fogel.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name
External links
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedtheguardian-shaheen - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbusinessinsider-perper-2 - ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbusinessinsider-perper-1