The ban late last year came after an almost yearlong investigation that concluded that the users had close connections to "external parties", and that these links were a source of "serious concern for the safety" of users, said the Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia.

Beirut-based digital rights group SMEX and human rights group Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) said that Saudi authorities had recruited Wikipedia's most reputed administrators in the country to control information about the kingdom.

The government jailed Wikipedia administrators who had contributed critical posts about political detainees to the free online encyclopedia, the two groups said earlier this month.

A spokesperson from the Wikimedia Foundation said the organization's investigation found no evidence of infiltration by the Saudi government.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Communication and Information Technology did not respond to a request for comment.

The Saudi government's actions, if proven, were "novel" but mirrored trends by oppressive governments worldwide to control online spaces, said Pat de Brún, head of artificial intelligence and big data at rights group Amnesty International.

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