Lebanon, Sierra Leone, Saudi Arabia.

Today's three stories you should know.

Aug 16, 2022

Lebanon

A man who took staff at a Beirut bank hostage last week to demand he be given access to his savings, which had been frozen, has been freed without charge after receiving overwhelming support from the Lebanese public. Lebanon is going through one of the worst economic crises in world history and banks have limited withdrawals for most people. Bassam al-Sheikh Hussein said he needed money to pay his father’s hospital bills and ended the siege when the Federal Bank said it would allow him to withdraw $35,000 of the $210,000 in his bank account. Hussein had threatened to set himself on fire. During the stand-off, crowds gathered outside the bank to express solidarity.

Sierra Leone

Hassan Dumbuya, a popular opposition figure in Sierra Leone, has been shot dead by police in an incident they blamed on crossfire. The circumstances are still murky but police were reported to have been conducting a raid against a group of people they accused of being behind anti-government protests last week. President Julius Maada Bio has said the demonstrations, which turned violent, were an attempted insurrection. The government has been accused of extra-judicial killings in the past.

Saudi Arabia

A young Saudi woman has been sentenced to 34 years in prison reportedly for following and retweeting dissidents on Twitter. Salma al-Shehab had been studying at a university in the UK and was arrested when she went home for a vacation. The Guardian reported that a translation of the charges said Shehab was: “assisting those who seek to cause public unrest and destabilise civil and national security by following their Twitter accounts.” Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has targeted Twitter users before and a Saudi prince owns a large stake in the company.