Saudi Arabia sentences producer to 13 years in prison over Netflix series
From the outside, the last few years seemed like the pinnacle of Abdulaziz Almuzaini's career.As the head of an animation studio in Saudi Arabia, he signed a five-year deal with Netflix in 2020. A sarcastic cartoon franchise he helped create, “Masameer,” likened to a Saudi version of “South Park,” was soon streaming to audiences around the world. And as the conservative Islamic kingdom relaxed, Mr. Almuzaini was publicly celebrated, until a few months ago, as one of the homegrown talents shaping its nascent entertainment industry.Behind the scenes, however, he was on trial in an opaque national security court, while Saudi prosecutors, who accused him of promoting extremism through the cartoon series and social media posts, sought to ensure he would spend the rest of his life in prison ...