Abdulrahman Alkhiary

Abdulrahman Alkhiary (born 1992/1993),[1] also known as Wajeeh Lion, is a Saudi-American human rights activist, journalist, and self-described first openly gay Saudi man.

Abdulrahman Alkhiary
Born
Saudi Arabia
NationalitySaudi
Other namesWajeeh Lion
Occupation(s)Activist, journalist
Known forLGBT+ activism, being the first openly gay Saudi man

Early life and asylum

Alkhiary left Saudi Arabia at age 12, when his parents moved to the United States. He attended Kansas State University, where he studied economics and political science. In his senior year, he accepted that he was gay.[1]

Alkhiary applied for asylum in the United States in 2013, knowing that he would have to go back to Saudi Arabia after his student visa expired.[1]

His family found out he was gay in 2016. Following this, they "immediately tried to send him back to Saudi Arabia and force him into conversion therapy. Wajeeh managed to escape after two years of planning and legal connections".[2]

He was granted asylum in September 2018,[1] with help from Kansas State University. He told an interviewer that he was under 'direct threat of being kidnapped' after his parents found out about his sexuality, and he spent a few months in a safehouse as a result.[3][4][5]

Activism

Alkhiary told WIRED that the Saudi government uses bots on Twitter to control the political narrative in the Kingdom and harass activists like himself: “The sole focus is to control Twitter’s trending algorithm in Saudi Arabia and force public opinion using bot accounts”.[6]

Alkhiary has spoken out about the repression of dissidents and gay people in Saudi Arabia, telling Insider that: "Most people I know in Saudi have two phones... One that has the government apps and another that has all of the other apps".[7]

Alkhiary was a member on the board of directors for the Kansas City Anti-Violence Program, a nonprofit dedicated services to LGBTQ youth, and is currently a board member of the Kansas City Health Commission Housing Committee, and a board member for Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.[8] He has also won an International Leadership Award from the Kansas State Alumni Center.[9][10]

Alkhiary has written about LGBT rights in Saudi Arabia,[11] and has been a media commentator on gay rights in the Gulf.[12][13][14]

Personal life

Alkhiary lives in Kansas City, Missouri.[1]

References
  1. "Openly gay Saudi native, living in Kansas City, finally granted asylum in US". FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. 2018-11-13. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  2. "Saudi Arabia's Dangerous Landscape For LGBTQ+ People: The Case Of Eden Knight And Wajeeh Gay Lion". The Viral Pink. 2023-03-20. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  3. "Wajeed Lion: Helping Those At Risk for Living Their Truth". Spreaker. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  4. Relations, Digital Public. "Wajeeh Lion: At Risk for Living Truth". PRLog. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  5. Lion, Wajeeh (2021-08-16). "'I Was Under Direct Threat.' The Struggle for LGBTQ Rights In Saudi Arabia". DAWN. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  6. Elliott, Vittoria. "Elon Musk Has Put Twitter's Free Speech in Danger". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  7. Guest, Peter (2022-09-02). "Saudi Arabians are using a widely available Google and Apple store app to report activists who speak out against the government. Some have received harsh sentences while others are self-censoring". Business Insider Nederland (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  8. "About | Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty". MADP. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  9. "2021 Thirty Under 30: Wajeeh Lion - Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity". 2021-10-10. Archived from the original on 2021-10-10. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  10. Lion, Wajeeh. "Wajeeh Lion". DAWN. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  11. "The gay gladiators of Saudi Arabia". My Kali Magazine. 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  12. First openly gay Saudi on changing status of LGBT in Kuwait, retrieved 2023-03-26
  13. Baska, Maggie (2023-03-20). "Queer Saudi who fled to US says Eden Knight's death 'won't be the last'". PinkNews. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  14. "TikTok star arrested in Saudi Arabia over video with 'lesbian undertones,' report says". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
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