Wajeeh Lion

Wajeeh Gay Lion (; born 1992/1993), also known as Wajeeh Lion, is a Saudi-American human rights activist, journalist, and self-described first openly gay Saudi man.

Early life and asylum Lion left Saudi Arabia at age 12, when his parents moved to the United States. He attended Kansas State University, where he studied economics and political science. In his senior year, he accepted that he was gay.

He was granted asylum in September 2018,

Activism Lion told WIRED that the Saudi government uses bots on Twitter to control the political narrative in the Kingdom and harass activists like himself: “The sole focus is to control Twitter’s trending algorithm in Saudi Arabia and force public opinion using bot accounts”.

Lion has spoken out about the repression of dissidents and gay people in Saudi Arabia, telling Insider that: "Most people I know in Saudi have two phones... One that has the government apps and another that has all of the other apps".

Lion was a member on the board of directors for the Kansas City Anti-Violence Program, a nonprofit dedicated services to LGBTQ youth, and is currently a board member of the Kansas City Health Commission Housing Committee, and a board member for Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. He has also won an International Leadership Award from the Kansas State Alumni Center.

Lion has written about LGBTQ rights in Saudi Arabia, and has been a media commentator on gay rights in the Gulf.

Personal life Lion lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota