[1][2][3] Pavel Pernikaŭ (Павел Аляксандравіч Пернікаў),[a] a Belarusian editor of the Belarusian Wikipedia, was sentenced on 7 April 2022 to two years in a penal colony for online postings "discrediting the Republic of Belarus" including two edits to Wikipedia about political repression in Belarus.
[4][5][6] Osama Khalid (أسامة خالد), a Saudi Arabian former administrator of the Arabic Wikipedia, was sentenced to five years imprisonment in September 2020 for "swaying public opinion" and "violating public morals" by making edits "critical about the persecution of political activists in the country.
[8][9] Ziyad al-Sofiani (زياد السفياني), also a former administrator of the Arabic Wikipedia, was likewise charged with "swaying public opinion" and "violating public morals" by making edits "critical about the persecution of political activists in the country."
[7][8][9] Bassel Khartabil (باسل خرطبيل) was a contributor to a number of open-source projects including Wikipedia; his arrest in 2012 was likely connected to his online activity.
[10] Several organizations, including the Wikimedia Foundation, established the Bassel Khartabil Free Culture Fellowship in his honor in 2017, for an initial period of three years.