Netflix Removes "Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj" Episode After Saudi Arabia Intervenes

[Amber]

The Saudi Arabian government isn't making the case look any better for themselves when it comes to the suspicious murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi was a Saudi Arabian rebel, who left the country to become a journalist in America after the career placed him in rough waters back home. He was a columnist for the Washington Post who was assassinated at the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, in October by representatives of the Saudi government. According to Financial Times, Netflix was forced to pull an episode of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj in Saudia Arabia after the government intervened. The episode addressed the murder of Khashoggi, and the apparent involvement of Saudi Arabian Crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

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“Netflix confirmed that it had removed the episode in Saudi Arabia last week, after the country’s Communications and Information Technology Commission made a request to take it down because it allegedly violated the kingdom’s anti-cyber crime law,” Financial Times reported. "Later in the removed episode, Mr. Minhaj criticized Silicon Valley for ‘swimming in Saudi cash’ and urged tech companies to stop taking investment from the kingdom."

In response, Netflix told Financial Times, "We strongly support artistic freedom worldwide and only removed this episode in Saudi Arabia after we had received a valid legal request—and to comply with local law."

(Via)

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