A well known blogger from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia was detained for "purposes of interrogation", as confirmed by the Saudi Interior Ministry today. The blogger’s name is Fouad al-Farhan and he runs one of the most widely read blogs in Saudi Arabia, found at www.alfarhan.org. He was arrested on December 10th, and authorities are only now acknowledging the arrest.

The BBC is reporting that this is the first time a blogger has been arrested for content on his blog. We don’t have direct confirmation, however, that it is the content of his blog which results in his arrest. His blog is highly political and it would not be out of the question that he followed up his blogging with some more real world activities that landed him in hot water.

The BBC also estimates that there are about 500 bloggers in the kingdom, most whom blog anonymously or using pseudonyms. The Saudi blog community has been protesting the arrest and are calling for international support, according to a story on Techcrunch. Al-Farhan’s blog is also continuing to be run by others under the banner of "Free Fouad". His blog is typically in all Arabic, however some English translation has appeared on the site since this story hit.

This is a very concerning act from the US ally in the "war on terror". Throughout the world, we see cases where bloggers get into trouble by exercising free speech (which to them, isn’t free at all).

Never underestimate the power of the blog to influence social change.

Story: New York Times.