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Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, November 7, 2019

Two Former Twitter Employees and a Saudi National Charged as Acting as Illegal Agents of Saudi Arabia

Defendants Allegedly Acted as Illegal Agents of a Foreign Government by Providing Information About Twitter Users to Representatives of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Ali Alzabarah, Ahmad Abouammo, and Ahmed Almutairi, aka Ahmed Aljbreen, were charged for their respective roles in accessing private information in the accounts of certain Twitter users and providing that information to officials of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Abouammo was arrested in Seattle, Washington, on Nov. 5, 2019. All three defendants are charged with acting as illegal agents of a foreign government; and Abouammo also is charged with destroying, altering, or falsifying records in a federal investigation.