Saudi Arabia Jails Piracy Trader in Landmark Case

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia has sentenced a piracy trader in a landmark judgment, the country’s Board of Grievances (BOG) said in a statement.

According to alarabiya.net, a Saudi court jailed the offender after a retail outlet and warehouse had been raided a total of seven times since 2006, resulting in the seizure of over 100,000 counterfeit products and several reproduction equipment.

Each of the first six offences resulted in escalating fines. However, following the seventh raid in 2010, the Minister of Information recommended to the highest judiciary authority, the BOG, that the offender be imprisoned. 

Saudi Arabia holds the highest piracy rate in the Gulf region at 60 per cent, the BOG said in a statement.

“This is a very important victory for anti-piracy advocates as it is the first-ever court judgement in Saudi Arabia resulting in imprisonment,” Arabian Anti Piracy Alliance Chief Executive Officer, Scott Butler, said in a statement.

“Pirate activities have already resulted in huge losses for the Saudi economy, with studies indicating that reduction of piracy rates could have potentially yielded up to $1 billion in GDP in the past two years. This clearly represents a huge incentive for the Saudi government to step up its efforts to break up pirate syndicate,” Butler added.