Farhan wrote that he was told he would be released if he signed an apology for his activism.

“I’m not sure if I’m ready to do that. An apology for what? Apologising because I said the government lied when they accused those guys of supporting terrorism?”

In a post in December, Farhan listed his 10 least favorite Saudi personalities, including a businessman prince, a prominent cleric, a minister, a mayor and the head of the judiciary. Farhan’s arrest could either scare other bloggers from criticising the government or create a backlash, said Ahmed al-Omran, 23, who blogs as Saudi Jeans.

Farhan has had trouble with the authorities before. In 2006 he was told by the Interior Ministry to tone down his blog and to dissolve an association he was forming to protect bloggers’ rights.

He dissolved the group and quit blogging for nine months because of his business interests, he said subsequently. But he went back to blogging even more critically in July. Farhan’s is the first arrest of a blogger in Saudi Arabia.