Farhan, the famous Saudi blogger who had been released after four months of incarceration, will not quit blogging, according to one of his closest friends. Ahmed Al-Omran, a friend and supporter of Farhan's and a co-poster on his blog, Saudi Jeans, told the the Saudi Gazette that Farhan will continue his blog “in the near future.” Farhan's blog, along with another one Omran and other friends had created to rally support for him, FreeFouad.com, were blocked in Saudi Arabia, the internet traffic of which mostly goes through the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology. Omran added that Farhan, fondly known as the father of Saudi bloggers, had assured him that he was never abused or mistreated during his detention. Farhan had been asked by the government to stop his blog. Prior to his arrest, Farhan had been questioned about his blog and asked to have it stopped. Omran said that upon talking to Farhan after his release, Farhan thanked him and his fellow bloggers who supported him and helped keep his case circulating in the media. Omran said that he had not yet met with Farhan personally after his release, but assured that he was in good spirit. “I talked to him Saturday evening and he sounded good,” said Omran. “He said that he had learned a lot from being in prison for four months.” “He is safe and sound with his family,” Omran added. “I received an SMS message from Fouad's wife at 5 AM Saturday morning telling me of his being released.” Farhan had been arrested in Jeddah on December 11 and held in solitary confinement without charge until Saturday. According to Saudi law, a suspect can be held up to 6 months without charges. In any case, Farhan's friends and family say they had been pleasantly surprised with his sudden release. “I didn't expect it,” said Omran, “since his blog was recently blocked. This is great news for Omran and his family and kids.” After Farhan was arrested, a group of bloggers from across the Gulf and Arab world created freefouad.com on which they posted constant updates of his latest news. They also formed a group on FaceBook.com, which ran up more than 1,000 members calling on Farhan's release. They also marked January 3 as “bloggosphere silence day” in support of Farhan. Omran said Farhan is now resting and recuperating with is wife and two children in Jeddah. __
