DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A prominent Saudi journalist who was arrested in 2018 and convicted on terrorism and treason charges has been executed, the kingdom said. Activist groups maintain that the charges against him were trumped up.

Turki Al-Jasser, who was in his late 40s, was put to death on Saturday, according to the official Saudi Press Agency, after the death penalty was upheld by the nation’s top court.

Authorities raided Al-Jasser’s home in 2018, arresting him and seizing his computer and phones. It was not clear where his trial took place or how long it lasted.

According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, Saudi authorities maintained Al-Jasser was behind an X account that levied corruption allegations against Saudi royals.

Al-Jasser’s “execution once again demonstrates that in Saudi Arabia, the punishment for criticizing or questioning Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is death,” said Jeed Basyouni of Reprieve, an international anti-death penalty advocacy group.

— The Associated Press