U.S. Revises Indictment of Ex-Twitter Workers Over Saudi Spying
U.S. to Drop Case Against Ex-Twitter Workers Over Saudi Hacks
(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. filed a revised indictment against two former Twitter Inc. employees and a Saudi national, alleging the three spied on dissidents for the Middle East country’s royal family.
The formal grand jury indictment filed late Tuesday is intended to replace a criminal information, or written accusation, that prosecutors asked a federal court in San Francisco to dismiss earlier in the day.
The two former Twitter employees, Ahmad Abouammo and Ali Alzabarah, are accused of feeding the Saudi government information about Twitter users critical of it. They were recruited by a Saudi named Ahmed Almutairi, who lives in the kingdom and has worked for the royal family’s social media company, according to prosecutors.
All three were charged with acting as illegal foreign agents. Of the three, only Abouammo, a U.S. citizen, was arrested. He has pleaded not guilty.
The case is U.S. v. Abouammo, 19-cr-00621, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).
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