The sudden return of Suleiman Al-Subaie, known as Sambateek, sparked a debate on social media between people who praised his return and others who asked for him to be punished. Al-Subaie is a Keek star, a video application popular here in Saudi Arabia. He was influenced by his elder brother's death, Abdulhakeem, who joined a group fighting the Syrian regime. Al-Subaie shocked everyone when he announced on his Twitter account that he joined a militant group called the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria to fight the Syrian regime. He managed to sneak into Turkey through the Turkish border with Syria and he then handed himself in to the Saudi Embassy and was flown back to the Kingdom. Many people on social media asked for the government to punish him severely even if he had repented his actions. They gave examples of people associated with Al-Qaeda who were freed from Saudi jails only to rejoin the terrorist group again. Others said the Saudi government should show mercy on Al-Subaie because he made a mistake and repented and should be appearing in the media to talk about his experience and how people are brainwashed to fight in a battle that does not belong to them. They all agreed in many tweets that Al-Subaie renouncing his extremist ways was a strong move that demonstrated these militant groups were encouraging young Saudis to fight in a war that did not concern them.
