Former Twitter manager convicted of espionage for Saudi Arabia

Twitter logo/Photo: SOPA Images / ddp USA / Profimedia

Former Twitter employee Ahmad Abuamo has been convicted of accessing the personal data of users critical of the Saudi Arabian government.

Abuamo, a US citizen and former manager in charge of Twitter's Middle East media partnership, was accused in 2019 of acting as an agent of Saudi Arabia without registering with the US government. Judges in the case found him guilty of six charges, including conspiracy to commit internet fraud and money laundering. He was acquitted of five other fraud-related charges.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2019 alleged that Abuamo and Saudi national Ali Alzabara, who worked as an engineer at Twitter, used their positions to gain access to confidential data about Twitter users, their email addresses, phone numbers and IP addresses, through which the user's location can be identified. While Saudi citizen Ahmed Mutairi worked with Saudi Arabia as a mediator.

According to the ruling, the user data of more than 6.000 Twitter accounts was accessed, including at least 33 usernames for which Saudi law enforcement authorities have asked the social network to reveal their identities.

Abuamo was arrested in November 2019 and released on bail. He pleaded not guilty. The FBI continues its search for Mutairi and Alzabara.

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