WikiLeaks to Publish 500,000 Leaked Documents the Saudi Government Doesn’t Want its Citizens to See · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

WikiLeaks started releasing more than half a million leaked Saudi documents, including some top secret information, which the Saudi government has warned its citizens not to exchange or access
WikiLeaks has started publishing more than half a million leaked documents from Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A total of 61,000 documents, in Arabic, are already online, creating a rich fodder of information on the secret correspondence behind the scenes in the Saudi corridors of power.
Saudis are, however, being warned from going anywhere near the leaked documents, sharing them or believing their contents.
The information dump, dubbed the Saudi Cables, reveal secret communications from Saudi embassies, as well as “top secret” reports from other Saudi state institutions, including the Ministry of Interior and the Kingdom's General Intelligence Services, according to a press release made by the whistle-blowing site.
The massive cache of data also contains a large number of email communications between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and foreign entities. The Saudi Cables are being published in tranches of tens of thousands of documents at a time over the coming weeks. Today WikiLeaks is releasing around 70,000 documents from the trove as the first tranche.
Julian Assange, WikiLeaks publisher, said:
The Saudi Cables lift the lid on a increasingly erratic and secretive dictatorship that has not only celebrated its 100th beheading this year, but which has also become a menace to its neighbours and itself.
Also Read: Buying Silence: How the Saudi Foreign Ministry Controls Arab media
Understandably, the Saudi government is not pleased and has reached out to its citizens to ignore the cache, waving it off as the malicious work of “enemies of the nation.” In two separate tweets, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns its citizens not to access the leaks.
It's first tweet reads:
عزيزي #المواطن_الواعي : لا تنشر أي وثائق قد تكون مزورة تساعد أعداء الوطن في تحقيق غاياتهم.
— وزارة الخارجية (@KSAMOFA) June 19, 2015
Dear Aware Citizen,
Don't spread any documents that may be forged and which will help the enemies of the state achieve their goals
A follow up tweet, a few minutes later, elaborates:
عزيزي #المواطن_الواعي : تجنب الدخول إلى أي موقع بغرض الحصول على وثائق أو معلومات مسربة قد تكون غير صحيحة، بقصد الإضرار بأمن الوطن.
— وزارة الخارجية (@KSAMOFA) June 19, 2015
Dear Aware Citizen,
Avoid entering any websites with the aim of accessing documents or leaked information, which may be fabricated, with the goal of harming national security.
Although the tweets, which have been retweeted a few thousand times, fail to mention the Saudi Cables, netizens on Twitter were quick to pick up on the cue.
Many shared screenshots of the ministry warnings with comments, like this Twitter user, who notes:
عزيزي المواطن : إن حكومتك أصبحت في ستين داهيه ، ونتمنى منك كعادتك أن تكون حماراً مطيعاً ، ولا تنشر غسيلنا .. وشكراً ! pic.twitter.com/I6t6UZQtph
— سِـرْحَـال (@Le3ders) June 19, 2015
Dear Citizen,
Your government is in deep trouble and expects you, as usual, to be an obedient donkey and not spread its dirty laundry.
Using tongue-in-cheek humor and describing her fellow Saudis as “aware citizens,” Saudi blogger Hala Aldoseri wonders what the wisdom behind banning Saudis from accessing the leaks is:
ماهي الحكمة من عدم الاطلاع يعني؟ حلال للعالم و حرام على #المواطن_الواعي
— هالة الدوسري (@Hala_Aldosari) June 20, 2015
What is the wisdom behind banning accessing? Is it permissible for the rest of the world and haram (religiously banned) on the aware citizen?
In a follow up tweet, she explains:
ماذا ستقول لنا تسريبات الويكيليكس غير ما نعرفه بالفعل؟ دور المال في تأمين الولاء، هاجس إيران و السنة، وصرفيات النافذين
— هالة الدوسري (@Hala_Aldosari) June 20, 2015
What will the WikiLeaks leaks tell us more than we know? About the role of money in securing allegiance, or the concern over Iran and Sunnis, or the running expenses of those in power?