<p>A former Twitter Inc manager accused of spying for Saudi Arabia was convicted on Tuesday on six criminal counts, including acting as an agent for the country and trying to disguise a payment from an official tied to Saudi's royal family.</p>.<p>Ahmad Abouammo, a dual US-Lebanese citizen who at Twitter helped oversee relationships with journalists and celebrities in the Middle East and North Africa, was found guilty after a 2-1/2 week trial in San Francisco federal court.</p>.<p>Jurors acquitted him on five of the 11 counts he faced.</p>.<p>Federal public defenders representing Abouammo did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Twitter declined to comment.</p>.<p>Prosecutors said Bader Al-Asaker, a close adviser to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, recruited Abouammo to use his insider knowledge to access Twitter accounts and dig up personal information about Saudi dissidents.</p>.<p>Those accounts allegedly included @mujtahidd, a pseudonym for a political agitator who gained millions of Twitter followers in the Arab Spring uprisings by accusing the Saudi royal family of corruption and other misdeeds.</p>.<p>Prosecutors said Abouammo received at least $300,000 and a $20,000 luxury watch from Al-Asaker, and concealed the money by depositing it in a relative's account in Lebanon and having it wired to his own account in the United States.</p>.<p>Defense lawyers argued that the work Abouammo did at Twitter was simply part of his job.</p>.<p>Abouammo was also convicted of wire fraud and honest services fraud, money laundering and a conspiracy charge.</p>.<p>"The government demonstrated, and the jury found, that Abouammo violated a sacred trust to keep private personal information from Twitter's customers and sold private customer information to a foreign government," US Attorney Stephanie Hinds in San Francisco said in a statement.</p>.<p>Ali Alzabarah, a former colleague of Abouammo also accused of accessing Twitter accounts on behalf of Saudi Arabia, left the United States before being charged. Al-Asaker, Saudi's crown prince and Twitter are not among the defendants.</p>
<p>A former Twitter Inc manager accused of spying for Saudi Arabia was convicted on Tuesday on six criminal counts, including acting as an agent for the country and trying to disguise a payment from an official tied to Saudi's royal family.</p>.<p>Ahmad Abouammo, a dual US-Lebanese citizen who at Twitter helped oversee relationships with journalists and celebrities in the Middle East and North Africa, was found guilty after a 2-1/2 week trial in San Francisco federal court.</p>.<p>Jurors acquitted him on five of the 11 counts he faced.</p>.<p>Federal public defenders representing Abouammo did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Twitter declined to comment.</p>.<p>Prosecutors said Bader Al-Asaker, a close adviser to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, recruited Abouammo to use his insider knowledge to access Twitter accounts and dig up personal information about Saudi dissidents.</p>.<p>Those accounts allegedly included @mujtahidd, a pseudonym for a political agitator who gained millions of Twitter followers in the Arab Spring uprisings by accusing the Saudi royal family of corruption and other misdeeds.</p>.<p>Prosecutors said Abouammo received at least $300,000 and a $20,000 luxury watch from Al-Asaker, and concealed the money by depositing it in a relative's account in Lebanon and having it wired to his own account in the United States.</p>.<p>Defense lawyers argued that the work Abouammo did at Twitter was simply part of his job.</p>.<p>Abouammo was also convicted of wire fraud and honest services fraud, money laundering and a conspiracy charge.</p>.<p>"The government demonstrated, and the jury found, that Abouammo violated a sacred trust to keep private personal information from Twitter's customers and sold private customer information to a foreign government," US Attorney Stephanie Hinds in San Francisco said in a statement.</p>.<p>Ali Alzabarah, a former colleague of Abouammo also accused of accessing Twitter accounts on behalf of Saudi Arabia, left the United States before being charged. Al-Asaker, Saudi's crown prince and Twitter are not among the defendants.</p>