Human Rights Watch urged Saudi Arabia to drop charges against a Saudi man who used the Internet and other media to complain about red tape as he tried to get state funding for his brother's medical treatment.

Nasir al-Subai has been charged under a law issued in 2007 to prevent libel and other violations linked to information technology and to 'protect the public interest and morals', New York-based HRW said in a statement.

Subai had been blogging and speaking to the media about what he said was a lack of support from Saudi officials as he tried to arrange care for his brother, who had been in a coma after a traffic accident in Saudi Arabia in  2007, it said.

The law punishes libellous use of information technology with up to one year in prison and a fine of up to SR500,000 ($133,300).

Producing anything that 'contests public order...or the inviolability of private life' carries a sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to 3 million riyals, HRW said. – Reuters