Fouad Ahmad Alfarhan is a popular Saudi Arabian blog

Blog

A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...

ger and political commentator noted for his advocacy of political reforms on his blog. Farhan is unusual among Saudi Arabian bloggers because he uses his real name rather than blogging under a pseudonym. Farhan had stopped blogging for a period after being told by government officials to "tone down" his commentary. He resumed posting in July 2007. On Tuesday, December 10, 2007 Farhan was arrested in Jeddah

Jeddah

Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...

. The arrest was reported by other Arab bloggers, and Saudi authorities confirmed he was being held for "interrogation

Interrogation

Interrogation is interviewing as commonly employed by officers of the police, military, and Intelligence agencies with the goal of extracting a confession or obtaining information. Subjects of interrogation are often the suspects, victims, or witnesses of a crime...

." No official charges were relayed. He was held in solitary confinement

Solitary confinement

Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...

 without charges. He was released from prison on April 26, 2008.

Reacting to his arrest, friends created the website Free Fouad calling for his release. Gamal Eid, the executive director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information

Arabic Network for Human Rights Information

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information is a Cairo, Egypt, based non-governmental organization devoted to promoting freedom of expression across the Middle East and North Africa. It collects publications, campaigns, reports, and statements from almost 140 Arabic human rights organizations...

, commented "When the Saudi authorities arrest a young man writing maturely and is against terrorism and calls for reformation, it is a serious indicator for how far are the fanatic and those opposing freedom of expression and reformation are taking over in Saudi Arabia."

Prior to his arrest Farhan worked as a manager at Smart Info Co. in Jeddah. He holds an M.A.

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 degree in IT

Information technology

Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...

 from Ball State University

Ball State University

Ball State University is a state-run research university located in Muncie, Indiana. It is also known as Ball State or simply BSU.Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball State's campus spans and includes 106 buildings...

 in Muncie, IN. He is married and has two children.